


Detectives Can Be Liars Too

by Serene_Sanity



Category: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Angst and Feels, Denial of Feelings, Drama, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Just some hurt feelings, Nobody Dies, Platonic Relationships, Romance, Shameless Smut, Some Humor, Unhealthy Relationships, Yamaceles is platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:48:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 68,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22378222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serene_Sanity/pseuds/Serene_Sanity
Summary: Rehashing an old crush leads to events that cause Celeste to see Kyoko in a different light.
Relationships: Celestia Ludenberg & Yamada Hifumi, Kirigiri Kyoko & Naegi Makoto, Kirigiri Kyoko/Celestia Ludenberg
Comments: 67
Kudos: 338





	1. Nice Seeing You Again

She was always well aware of the risks that came with her talent, but that hadn't stopped her from participating in certain activities. How could she not? So much of her wealth came from gambling.....It was not like she had any other ways to make money. Of course, she could always sell the clothes she made, but there was no fun in that. Outside of the money, the rush she got was probably the best part of gambling. Which led her to her current predicament...

It was cold, dingy, and just overall unpleasant. It was certainly no place for a lady such as herself....so, why was she here? Illegal gambling of course.....as much as it frustrated her, she wasn't the least bit surprised that she finally got caught. She had been doing this since she was sixteen. It was bound to happen at some point. It was just rather unfortunate that she wasn't able to keep the prize money this time around.

Celeste couldn't help but turn her nose up at the scene. Despite her berating the officer looking after her with an absurd amount of expletives, she was stuck here until they were able to clear things up. She was even desperate enough to offer him money, but he instead just ignored her offer and turned his back to her. Making her even more frustrated. She was about to berate him with more expletives for ignoring her, but suddenly the door to the room swung open.

It was almost as if time itself slowed down as she stared at the lavender haired woman who had just entered the room holding on to a stack of papers. She was dressed in a black blazer that she wore over her plain white blouse and a plum-colored skirt with high heeled boots. _"Such a bland sense of fashion."_ Celeste thought to herself. But somehow, this lavender haired woman managed to look somewhat captivating wearing those clothes. 

"Thanks for covering for me miss Kirigiri." The officer said as he gathered his things and rose from the desk. Kirigiri's face remained neutral as she took his place behind the desk. "S-Sorry for the inconvenience. I know you're busy with more important things than this Miss Kirigiri." He said nervously. She didn't speak. She simply waved him off in which he bowed and quickly left the room.

Once he left the room, she pulled out a pen from her shirt pocket and began working on her paperwork. Meanwhile, Celeste still had not taken her eyes off the detective. She studied her movements closely, observing the way she flipped her hair. The way her lips slightly glistened under the lamp was truly enticing. God, she felt like such a creep, but she couldn't help it. Celeste hated how enamored she was by this woman. She couldn't remember the last time she looked at someone like this. 

Kyoko, on the other hand, had barely acknowledged her since she entered the room. This left Celeste slightly annoyed since the two of them were former classmates. It wasn't like Celeste was just some random criminal behind bars. Why would Kyoko pretend not to know her? Maybe she was embarrassed by their current predicament. More importantly, how would she manage to grab the attention of someone who wasn't paying her any mind? She never had this problem before since most people usually gave her attention without her having to try to get it. 

"Can I help you?" She asked sternly looking over at Celeste. Her face remained neutral, but their slight hint of annoyance in her expression. " _Just like the old days,"_ Celeste thought...She had not expected Kyoko to say anything to her. The two of them hadn't spoken in years. It was never intended on either end, but life just kinda got in the way. But now was her chance to try and make up for the lost time. It was a bit awkward considering her current circumstances, but she would let that get in the way. 

"Bonjour madame. My apologies for staring, but I could not help but notice your staggering beauty." She said playing up her faux French accent. Kyoko's only response was to refocus her attention back on her paperwork without uttering a single word. Celeste scowled at the arrogant response to her compliment. _"Not even so much as a thank you!"_ She thought, but she wasn't going to let that stop her pursuit. 

"You know...I would love to take you out to dinner sometime. It would be my treat." 

"I don't date criminals." She said harshly, not even bothering to look away from her paperwork. Celeste had barely managed to suppress a scoff. Honestly, she missed Kyoko, but if there was one thing she could live without, it would be her cold emotionless demeanor. But despite the harshness of her words, Celeste remained confident. Besides, she's been called worse plenty of times before. "You say that...But how do you know what you do not like if you have never tried it?"

"I think I know whether or not I'd want to be involved with someone who is sitting behind bars for criminal activity." She sounded even more annoyed than she was before, but Celeste wouldn't let that stop her. To her, this was a good thing. She'd managed to not only get Kyoko to respond, but she also got her show some semblance of emotion. 

"Hm...So, what you are saying is that if I were not a criminal, you would accept my offer?" Celeste could tell she was slightly caught off guard by that question.

"Does it matter?" 

"It does matter. As I would like to take you out once I get out of here." The detective finally looked over at her with a serious expression on her face. It was hard for Celeste to tell what she was thinking due to her neutral expression, but that was something she had grown used to at this point. Kyoko was the type to use this as a way to hide how she felt about whatever was going on at the moment.

"But You _are_ a criminal, so, it will never happen." Celeste chuckled at this. "You are still playing hard to get after all these years I see." Celeste always enjoyed a good chase. To her, it was almost like some form of gambling...It was just as exciting and depending on the circumstances, the reward could be just as rich. "What if I told you I am willing to give this life up just for you? Everybody makes mistakes you know.."

"We both know that's not true. And besides, I'd hardly consider your crime as just a mistake." 

Celeste paused for a moment trying to think of what to say next. Kyoko wasn't entirely wrong. She was the self-proclaimed queen of liars and many people often fell for her lies, Kyoko was much too smart for that. She knew that, but it was still worth a try.

"Do you ever take risks Kyoko?" The detective looked up from her paperwork once again. "Excuse me?" She stared over at the gambler with a confused expression on her face. Celeste knew Kyoko heard what she asked, but she was sure Kyoko didn't know how to respond to that question. Sure Kyoko was smart, but she didn't know everything. Especially when it came to understanding someone else's feelings. 

"Would you do that with me? Would you be willing to take that risk with me Kyoko?" She purred "You know...Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Am I right to assume that you don't have anyone to spend it with?" Celeste hardly cared about the holiday herself and she doubts Kyoko did either, but she wouldn't waste this opportunity to woo her. She swore she saw the slightest hint of a blush on the detective's pale skin, but she turned away before Celeste could tell for sure. 

"Why would you assume that? No, it doesn't matter. I meant what I said. I don't find people in your....line of work to be all that appealing." She said turning back to her work. She seemed insistent on not continuing the conversation. So, Celeste shrugged and finally tore her eyes away from detective. "Very well then. I'll leave you to your work I suppose." The detective didn't even respond to her statement.

Being rejected sucked. Especially for someone like Celeste. And while she always loved a good chase, Kyoko made it clear that she wasn't interested, so, there was no need to press the issue. She dropped the subject and sat in silence while fiddling around with the fabric on her skirt as she waited patiently for them to release her. 

The door swung open again and the officer from earlier re-entered the room. "Thanks. I can take it from here Miss Kirigiri." She got up from the desk not even bothering to look back at Celeste and made her way towards the exit. Celeste watched her closely as she did so. She understood why Kyoko turned her down as it wasn't the first time she had been rejected by her. But still.....she didn't quite understand why Kyoko was being so cold towards her. She assumed that it may have been her flirting with her from behind bars. It was understandable, but she wouldn't beat herself up for trying. 

The officer gave her one last smile before she exited the room and sat back down at his desk. "M-Miss Ludenberg....we are almost done processing everything. Y-You'll be free to leave soon." 

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she was released from that hell hole. She straightened out her skirt and gathered up her belongings and walked past the nervous officer, not making any eye contact with him as she passed. Soon after, she made her way out of the building. At this point, all she wanted to do was get home and have a nice hot cup of tea. She grabbed her phone from her jacket pocket and called her chauffeur silently cursing herself for not calling in advance. 

Waiting around doing nothing was incredibly boring. She blindly dug through her purse for a specific item. The items in her purse were usually more organized, but those bastards ended up spilling everything when they arrested her. Finally, after some digging, she took out a small compact mirror from her purse and began to check her makeup. There was nothing wrong with her makeup, but what else was she supposed to do?

As she stared in the mirror at herself, she noticed someone else's reflection in the distance. It was her...

She shut her compact mirror in one swift movement and turned to see the detective staring at her. 

"You're still here?" The detective asked in annoyance. 

"No need to worry, I'm not here to harass you or anything. I am just waiting for my chauffeur." Celeste said before turning her back to her. She was never the type to beg anyone for anything. Even if she wanted her, it was something that just didn't fit her image at all. She understood and accepted the detective's response to her asking her out. Which is why she slightly surprised when Kirigiri walked up from behind her and handed her a small piece of folded up paper. 

Her face remained neutral as Celeste stared at her in curiosity, but she didn't say anything. The detective smirked at her and began silently walking over to the parking towards her car. Leaving Celeste standing there in confusion. Once She had driven off, Celeste began to examine the small piece of paper in her hand. And when she unfolded it, she couldn't contain the smirk that appeared on her face. It seems like this day wasn't a complete disaster after all.

Her chauffeur had finally arrived and she tucked the piece of paper with Kirigiri's phone number on it safely away in her jacket pocket. 

"I guess detectives can be liars too." 


	2. The Games You Play

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I'm really excited about this story and I hope you enjoy it as well. Unfortunately, I'm busy with school and stuff so, the updates may come in slow, but don't worry, I'm not going to abandon it. Enjoy!

For a brief moment, it was hard to believe that the mysterious detective was willing to give her a chance, but she quickly remembered who she was. She was Celestia Ludenberg. Whenever she wanted something, she got it. And it just so happened that detective Kirigiri was who she wanted.

Of course, it wasn't easy. Kyoko acted as if she wanted nothing to do with her and scoffed at the idea of dating a 'criminal' but no matter how hard she tried....she couldn't resist the gambler's charm. It took more effort than what Celeste would have liked, but she was a professional gambler. Running away from the challenge was just too uncanny for someone like her and besides..her prize for doing so was more than worth it.

Celeste stood in front of her bedroom mirror attentively observing her appearance. She probably spent more time in front of the mirror than the average person, but that was just who she was. She truly valued beauty over most things.

She couldn't remember the last time she went on date. Well....one that she was genuinely excited for, but that's a story for another time. She took one last look at her makeup and smoothed down her dress checking for any wrinkles before smiling to herself in the mirror. "Perfect," she said as she turned to leave the room. 

On the way to the restaurant, she couldn't help but let her mind ponder. A small part of her hated how she allowed herself to fall for someone. A detective no less. The two of them were on opposite sides of the law. How would a relationship between the two of them even work? She figured Kyoko thought she was a nutcase. Not many people would be crazy enough to hit on a cop from behind bars. But also..not many people were Celeste. 

She couldn't figure out why Kyoko agreed to go out with her in the first place. Especially since she had little to no interest in the gambler before. Their relationship never exceeded that of a friendship. Kyoko knew Celeste liked her as more than just a friend, but she never returned those feelings. Despite being disappointed Celeste respected her choice and just accepted being friends with her.

Maybe it had something to do with her promising to give her criminal life up for her if she gave her a chance. Of course, Celeste was lying. She only said all of that to sweet-talk her way into Kyoko'd pants. Did Kyoko not notice that? Did she just simply not care? Or perhaps she was after the same thing herself. Either way, it didn't matter. Celeste was one step closer to getting what she wanted. It was wrong to think like that, but she didn't care, it was Valentine's day. She deserved to treat herself. It was not as if though she didn't care about her as a person, but she still had needs to just like everyone else.

It was a little bit after 9 PM by the time she got to the restaurant. Unsurprisingly, Kyoko was already there waiting for her wearing a blazer over her white blouse and a miniskirt. Her longer lavender hair flowed down her back and she wore a single side braid held together by a black ribbon. Not the most fashionable person but her beauty certainly made up for it Celeste thought.

She just stood there silently with her arms folded in front of her as she stared at Celeste. She didn't even smile or attempt to greet her in any way. All she offered was a silent glare. Was she angry? But why would she be? Celeste hadn't even said or did anything yet. Celeste ignored Kyoko's glare and began to approach her.

The two stood there silently staring at each for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality, it was more like 30 seconds. Celeste smirked and held out her hand to grab Kyoko's, but the latter didn't react. "Good evening beautiful." She spoke before slowly lifting Kyoko's gloved hand to her mouth and placing a small kiss on it. As she did this, her eyes shifted up to the detective's face that still held a neutral expression. "No reaction I see..." Celeste chuckled and carefully let go of Kirigiri's hand. 

"Shall we go inside?" Kyoko didn't say anything and followed Celeste inside. 

Once inside, the two of them were seated and began to order. 

"You know...you haven't said a word to me all night Kyoko. That's no way to treat your lover.." She teased trying to get a reaction out the detective. But much to her disappointment, her facial expression remained neutral. At one point Celeste had begun to wonder if she had said or done something wrong to upset her. Was she mad at her because they hadn't spoken in years? It wasn't her fault. Even still, she felt like she should apologize, but before she could say anything...

"Let's get something straight.." Kirigiri finally spoke. "We are not 'lovers' and nothing between us has been established..this is just a casual outing. Nothing more. Nothing less." With Kyoko's harsh tone, Celeste found herself being shocked for a brief moment. She knew how Kyoko felt about this entire situation, but she wasn't exactly expecting that reaction from her. Kyoko was a hard nut to crack and it would be harder than what she initially thought. But Celeste was prepared for the challenge. It would be boring if Kyoko was too easy.

"My, I thought you were joking earlier, but you must really see me a criminal. Well, make no mistake my dear. While I may come off as shady to someone like you, I have no intention of crossing any boundaries here."

Kyoko stared at her suspiciously hinting that she didn't really believe her. 

Although she wouldn't admit it, Kyoko's reaction left Celeste genuinely confused. She couldn't understand why Kyoko had agreed to go out with her if she thought that she was such an untrustworthy criminal. Was it genuine interest? Or was she after something else? Celeste would need to be careful here. She was very much interested in Kyoko as more than just a casual acquaintance. But revealing too much here could prove to be detrimental. She wanted her bad, but not bad enough throw herself to the wolves. 

It seemed as though some trust had been lost between the two...It wasn't like it was her fault. Adulthood had gotten in the way of their relationship. Kyoko was busy with her career and Celeste had aspirations of her own. No matter how much she liked Kyoko, Celeste wasn't the type of person to throw her life away chasing after some silly highschool crush. 

_"Hmm. I wonder...."_

Her thoughts were interrupted by the waitress returning to the table with their meals. Celeste thanked her more graciously than what she usually would have. She even made a point to wink and smile at the waitress in a flirtatious manner causing her to blush. The waitress bowed and frantically scurried off leaving the two women alone once more. 

Celeste's eyes shifted over to Kyoko, who was now glaring at her for some reason. Despite her neutral expression, Celeste could still detect the slightest bit of anger there. But why? She hadn't done anything wrong. "Something wrong dear?" She teased already knowing what the problem was. 

"You're still quite troublesome after all these years I see," Kyoko spoke brushing her hair behind her ear as she looked away from Celeste for the first time tonight. It was the first time she had seen her display some form of emotion in while. Celeste would've initially taken this as Kyoko having some interest in her, but she didn't want to get ahead of herself. Kyoko was very much capable of fooling people with her emotions just like she was.

"Kyoko dear, if this is as you say...nothing more than more than a casual outing, you shouldn't be annoyed by that sort of thing." She said before finishing up what was left of her wine. 

"I think you've had a little bit too much to drink tonight..." 

Kyoko had completely ignored her statement, but Celeste wouldn't let her off the hook that easily. "Maybe so...But you and I both know you don't have to feel that way....all you have to do is say the word and ~I'm all yours...~" She didn't want to overwhelm Kyoko by flirting too much, but the toxins from the wine flowing through her body made that nearly impossible. 

"While I appreciate you for taking me out and paying for dinner, please understand that I will not be going home with you or anything of that nature. You're still really suspicious and quite possibly a criminal." 

Of course, Celeste wasn't too disappointed upon hearing this since she already expected her to respond like that. Kyoko was not a naive woman who was easily swayed by fancy romantic gestures and sweet talk. She was smart, alert, and could probably be just as cunning as Celeste if she wanted to be. If there was one thing Celeste learned from all her years of gambling, it was to never underestimate her opponent. In this case, she couldn't let the detective's dazzling beauty lower her guard. Kyoko was still a mystery and she still knew very little about her or her intentions. But that would only make unraveling her mysteries more interesting. 

"Tell me...You said yourself that you do not trust me. If that is true, then why would you choose to go on a date with me? What exactly are you after?" For the first time tonight, Celeste's smile fell as her expression became more serious. This was a serious question and she wanted the detective to know as much. Kyoko's facial expression remained the same, but she slightly shifted in her seat as if she was uncomfortable. This, of course, didn't go unnoticed by Celeste. She couldn't figure out why such a simple question made someone uncomfortable. 

She let out a sigh. "Honestly, I don't even know myself. As you already know, my feelings about you have not changed.....Maybe I just wanted some form of closure from you." Celeste's poker face remained the same, but something inside of her began to make her feel anger. "I see...." She had not expected Kyoko to outright admit to liking her, but there was something about her response that just didn't quite sit well with her. She didn't even entertain the thought of staying friends...All she wanted was closure...

Here she was being used as some kind of emotional crutch for someone who had problems expressing themselves. Yeah, there was a slight feeling of denial. She didn't want to believe that Kyoko would use her like this. She even started to wonder if this was really about closure. But then again, what else could she possibly want? Kyoko wasn't the type of person who cared about money, so, she couldn't be after that. And she already made it clear that she wasn't interested in sleeping with her either. So, what does she want? Is Kyoko really leading her on? Maybe she doesn't know her as well as she thinks.

She wasn't used to this feeling. Most people would jump at the opportunity to be on a date with Celestia Ludenberg, but here this...woman was acting like she barely cared to be here with her. Kyoko had just admitted that she was only here because she needed to figure herself out. She wasn't there to spend time with her. She didn't care about mending their relationship...

She didn't care about her...

Celeste could feel the anger building up inside her, but she knew she had to keep her composure. They were in public. And it was classless to argue in public. However, if they were in private, Celeste would have berated her and given her an earful for being so unappreciative. But instead of getting angry, she took a sip from her refilled wine glass. Kyoko was right, she was drinking too much, but she needed it at this point. No one should ever make her feel this way...

They finished the rest of their meal in silence and left the restaurant together. 

Celeste wasn't sure what to say or how to respond at this point. "You've been quiet for a while. Very unlike you. You always seem to have so much to say and I haven't heard any of your snarky comments in a while." Kyoko said finally breaking the silence between them. Celeste had barely managed to keep herself from scowling at this. Once again..Celeste decided she would not get upset despite how annoyed she was. Instead, she just decided to flash her signature fake smile and giggle. 

She wouldn't even dignify this with a proper response. "Tch. There is simply nothing left to be said." She said turning away from Kyoko to leave for the night. 

"Is there something wrong? Did I say something to make you upset?" She heard the detective's calm voice call out to her making her freeze in place. _"What the_ _fuck do you think?_ " Kyoko seemed concerned......but why? Why all of a sudden? She's been cold and standoffish all night....now she cares?!? Celeste was left dumbfounded and could feel herself becoming even more upset. Why was she toying with her like this? Kyoko likely already knew that Celeste was upset by words during dinner. If there was anybody that could see straight through her facade....it would be none other than Kyoko.

"If so, I apologize." She didn't even bother turning around to face her. She already imagined the detective's facial expression. Intense lilac eyes boring into her soul in the most intimidating manner. But she wouldn't let her win....at least not without a fight. Celestia Ludenberg would never concede defeat. 

"There is no need for that my dear. Now, if you'll excuse me...I'll be on my way. Goodnight and please be careful on your way back." With that Celeste began to gracefully walk away without uttering another word. She had every right to want to strangle her to death right then and there and she would have if this were a few years ago. But there was no need for that. She'd grown up and become a better person. Well...she was in the process of doing so. 

Once she made it home, she aggressively slammed the door open most likely scaring her cat, but she didn't care. She was so disappointed with how she acted tonight. Almost letting her emotions get the best of her. Not once...but TWICE! Who does that woman think she is?? No....it's not Kyoko's fault. She was only being herself. It was She who needed to learn to control her emotions better. Was having self control something that came naturally? Or could self-control be taught? And to someone like Celeste, who was used to being waited on and getting whatever she wanted? Who knows...

She sighed and retired to her room for the night. Maybe she'd feel better after a goodnight's rest. Hopefully...


	3. A Change of Heart?

The feeling of betrayal was one that no one wanted to experience. Even someone like Celeste, who was well aware of when someone wasn't being completely honest with her. After all...she was the self-proclaimed queen of liars. But what was she to do when that betrayal came from within? She didn't understand anything that was happening to her. It felt like her mind and body were working against her. Sure she could trick her own heart into believing whatever she wanted it to, but this time she just couldn't shake the feeling. This wasn't how this was supposed to go...

Make no mistake...Celeste was no stranger when it came to being with beautiful women. But there was just something different about the mysterious detective she been infatuated with. It wasn't fair...Celeste was sure she had come to terms with the fact that she and Kyoko would be nothing more than just friends. But was she really okay with that? She was never supposed to doubt herself, but yet....here she was doing just that.

She not only had herself to figure out but Kyoko as well. There were so many questions left unanswered...Why had Kyoko slipped Celeste her phone number in the first place? And why did she agree to go out with her? She bluntly stated that she didn't date criminals, but yet she decided to spend the evening with her. It was something that not even Celeste could comprehend. 

She stared blankly at her phone which displayed a message from Kyoko asking if everything was alright. It was weird receiving such a text from her, but considering how she reacted last night, it wasn't really out of place. One would say that she was being dramatic with her behavior. She, however, would just blame it on the alcohol flowing through her body. Still....she contemplated whether she should answer the text or not. Even though she already knew the answer to that. 

Ignoring Kyoko would only make things worse. After all, she was still her friend above all else and despite her initial coldness, she did still check on her to make sure that everything was okay. A scowl played across her face as she silently cursed herself for giving in so easily to her own feelings. But for now, she will wait until she is in a better mood to call her. She set her phone down and walked over to the window of her large bedroom and stared out of the window thinking about everything that had happened. 

What was to come of this? Could She and Kyoko become a thing? It's been far too long since she's had a legitimate relationship. A small part of her was excited at the thought, but she knew better than to get ahead of herself. No relationship had been established between the two of them yet and Kyoko wasn't interested in her as a romantic partner. But that didn't stop her from daydreaming about the possibilities.

Suddenly, there was a loud frantic knock at Celeste's bedroom door bringing her out of thoughts. 

"What the fu-" Celeste was slightly startled by the sudden noise but quickly caught herself. She cleared her throat before calling out to the person on the other side of the door. "Yes, please. Come in.." Once she said that a very nervous and sweaty Hifumi appeared in the room.

"I-I-I'm sorry mistress! You didn't answer when I first knocked so I got worried that something might be wrong." He said squealing and pleading on his knees with her. Celeste stared down at him for a moment. If this were a few years ago she would have berated him for interrupting her thoughts. However...over the years, she's calmed down and decided to be nicer to him. (only a little though.)

Celeste let out a sigh. "I thought I told you to stop calling me that! I'm not your mistress!" Her accent faltered as she raised her voice at the frightened young man in front of her who in return, trembled with fear. It was funny to think how after all these years, she still had that effect on him.

"I-I was just coming to let you know that I have finished preparing your tea, M'lady." 

She rolled her eyes at what he'd just called her. Honestly, was it that hard to just call her by her name?

"Ah...I see. I shall be down shortly." She said waving him away indicating that she wanted to be alone. She didn't feel like pressing the issue any further, so, she just let him go without correcting him. Celeste realistically only wanted handsome men serving her, but she made an exception for Hifumi. The two had known each other since they were in high school and she confided in him about her interests and some of her problems. She wouldn't admit this out loud, but as annoying as he could be at times, he also made a good friend. 

"I need to be careful here.." She muttered to herself, still thinking about Kyoko as she nervously twirled a lock of her hair. She didn't fully understand why she was so nervous. It probably had something to do with potentially losing Kyoko. Although she loved to tease and mess around with her, she would never go too far out of fear of ruining their friendship. It was something she always kept in mind when doing so. Sure, they were just friends, but Celeste was perfectly okay with that. (At least that's what she wanted to believe).

"...Maybe I should invite her over for a game of chess." She sighed and began to make her way downstairs to the kitchen. She was still a little bit upset with Kyoko, but she still craved her presence and honestly, she hated it more than anything. It was bad enough that this was a one-sided love, but the fact that Kyoko had her pretty much wrapped around her finger made the situation even worse. She wondered if Kyoko was aware of this...Either way, she would never admit to it.

Celeste just sat at the table absentmindedly stirring her tea. Obviously she wasn't as in control of her own thoughts as she would have liked to believe. She must not have noticed herself spacing out because her thoughts were once again interrupted by Hifumi. 

"Is there something troubling you M'lady?" He stared on in concern waiting for her to answer. Over the years their relationship had grown something more reminiscent of an actual friendship rather than some one-sided master and server relationship. Although she wouldn't acknowledge it, she was proud of him for improving his social skills and turning down the creepy factor on his '2D girls only' stance. 

"No need to worry. I'm just excited to be meeting up with a very special friend of ours." She giggled. She was able to quickly regain her composure and put on a fake smile as if she weren't a nervous wreck a few seconds ago.

"A friend of ours? You mean as in the both of us?"

"As I said...you don't need to worry about it. You'll find out soon enough. Now....take me for a walk, please. I am in dire need of some fresh air." She spoke trying to change the subject. After all...she didn't want to reveal too much even if he was one of the few people she actually trusted. 

"O-Oh....okay. As you wish m'lady." Afterward, Hifumi finished cleaning up and they went out for the day. 

...

The day seemed to be going by slowly, much to her dismay. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy her job, but days like this where she spent hours locked up in her office with paperwork left a lot to be desired. She wanted to just lay her head on the desk for a couple of minutes...or maybe even hours, but unfortunately, this particular case too important for her to slack off.

She was hot on the trail of a serial killer that had been terrorizing the city for weeks, but she couldn't quite piece together the final details of the case. This frustrated her to no end. People's lives were on the line and she could do nothing but sit around drowning in her own frustration. Kyoko wasn't the type to give up easily, but this new case had been causing her a great amount of stress. She needed a break. 

Suddenly, as if right on cue, her phone began to vibrate in her pocket. She pulled out her phone to see that it was Celeste calling her. A part of her was slightly surprised since she was sure that she had made Celeste upset last night. It wasn't her intention to do so, but Kyoko wasn't the type to lie about her feelings. Despite not having romantic feelings for her, she still cared about Celeste as a friend. But it was difficult trying to maintain a friendship with someone who was basically in love with her.

It would make things too awkward for her whenever she got around to finding someone of her own and she didn't want to hurt Celeste like that. Which is why she wanted closure. She hesitated while staring down at her phone as she contemplated answering her call. Despite already knowing that she would...

**"** Kyoko dear, I told you not to worry about that. Everything is fine." 

That was a lie. She knew it even though it is nearly impossible to read someone through a phone call. Kyoko expected her to respond with that, but that didn't stop her from being hit with another wave of guilt. Maybe she should have been a little nicer to Celeste. It wasn't like she had planned to do anything bad to Kyoko. All she wanted to do was take her out on a date and do some catching up. Kyoko opened her mouth to apologize, but before she could say anything, Celeste spoke again.

**"** On second thought, I think our date went a little sour, but that was mostly my fault. Why don't you come over this weekend and let me make it up to you~"

Kyoko rolled her eyes at the response. "I'm sorry for how I acted towards you at dinner last night." She ignored Celeste's invitation on purpose. It wasn't because she wanted to be mean, but because she was a little hesitant about accepting the offer.

"Kyoko dear, I already told you...Everything is fine."

Of course, she would say something like that. Normally, she would just brush this off as Celeste downplaying her own feelings, but considering the events from last night and her current mindset, it was harder to ignore it. The right move would be to decline and come clean about how she felt, but it was easier said than done. For some reason, she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

Kyoko was stuck between a rock and a hard place. It was already bad enough that they hadn't spoken in years. And meeting up with her after the fact just to tell her to go away would be shitty. How could you tell someone you cared about to just go away? To make matters worse, she wasn't even sure if that was what she really wanted.

Despite her feelings being unrequited, Celeste still managed to be a good friend to her. She was fun and always had ways of making her laugh whenever she was in a sour mood. And although Celeste wasn't the best person herself, she still didn't deserve to be tossed aside like she was nothing.

She wouldn't admit this, but she missed all the times she spent with Celeste during their years at Hope's Peak. Celeste had even taught her how to play poker. Sometimes they'd end up staying up late at night playing poker and talking about the most random topics. That was something Kyoko never did with anyone else, not even Makoto.

She found herself smiling whilst reminiscing about the good times she had with Celeste and mentally scolded herself for even thinking about ending their friendship. Celeste was too good to her. And that's saying a lot for someone like Celeste. Sure, there were times when she wasn't the nicest to their classmates, but when it came to Kyoko, she never even once considered mistreating her. Part of that was due to the crush on the detective, but on the other hand, they generally had mutual respect between them despite Kyoko not returning the gambler's feelings. 

"Kyoko are you still there?" The sound of Celeste's concerned voice snapped Kyoko back to attention. The realization hit when Kyoko noticed that she'd spent so much time thinking about Celeste, that she hadn't even responded to her.

"Yes. Sorry, I was just a little busy, that's all." That was kind of a lie. She _was_ working on a case before Celeste called, but she also just spent the last couple of minutes lost in her thoughts. "...And I'd love to spend some time catching up with you this weekend." She said through a smile.

It was funny how Celeste was so heavily on her mind. Maybe she underestimated just how much she missed her. Despite her cold demeanor towards the gambler, she really missed talking to her and spending time with her. 

"Excellent! Then I suppose it's a date."

"Whatever you say, Celeste." Kyoko sighed and rolled her eyes at that response. She wouldn't even bother lecturing her about how they were not dating and how they were only going to meet up as friends.

"Alright dear, I won't keep you any longer. I know that you are very busy." That came out as very snarky, but Kyoko didn't pay it any mind. 

She had to admit, it was kind of cute how excited Celeste sounded over the phone. And honestly, she found herself being more excited about it than what she would like to admit. Perhaps spending a little quality time with the gambler will help take her mind off things for a while. It wasn't every day that she got the chance to just relax and enjoy herself. And last night was the closest she'd ever been to being on a real 'date.'

Before she started getting too carried away with her thoughts, she remembered that she was supposed to be working on a case at the moment. Unfortunately, she was reminded of how difficult this case had been for her and how important it was for her to catch the culprit as soon as possible. She put turned her phone on silent and put it back into her shirt pocket to eliminate all distractions. This was going to take a lot out of her but at the very least she had the weekend with Celeste to look forward to.


	4. Can You Feel It?

"Hifumi did you finish making preparations as I asked you to?" Celeste wasn't the type to cater to the needs of others, but she decided it would be necessary this time around. Though, it was more for herself rather than anyone else. Either way...she wanted to make sure that everything was going according to plan.

"Y-Yes m'lady." Hifumi was scrambling around still trying to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. Despite Celeste being a lot nicer to him these days, he still feared her losing her temper over his screw-ups. He was aware that Celeste could go from sweet to sour at the snap of a finger. Which is why he wanted to avoid ruining things for her. 

"Excellent. I'll be waiting in the main room." This is when Celeste would find the answers to many of her questions. It was still somewhat hard to believe that Kyoko would agree to visit her at her own home. It doesn't matter though. She would do everything in her power to milk that information out of Kyoko before the night was over. It would be far from easy, but she already knew this. This is part of why she arranged this meeting in the first place. Of course, the other part was her actually being interested in Kyoko and wanted to see if there was anything there between the two of them. 

Celeste took her seat at a small square table that held a standard chessboard. She would lure Kyoko in with a simple game of chess. It was nothing out of the ordinary really. During their time at Hope's Peak, it was common for both of them to partake in some of the most competitive but calm games of chess. Of course...Celeste ended up winning most of the time...with Kyoko only winning a few. She may or may not have intentionally let Kyoko win some of those matches. 

She sat there reminiscing about their time together until she was brought to her senses by the sound of the doorbell ringing throughout the house. Without having to be told, Hifumi swiftly scurried away to go answer the door. She refocused her thoughts and waited patiently for her guest to arrive. 

Out the corner of her eye, she could see Hifumi returning to the room, but he wasn't alone. With him came her long-anticipated guest. Kyoko Kirgiri. She didn't even bother looking up at either of them as they entered. However, she couldn't stop herself from smiling at the detective's presence just inches away from her. It was one of the few genuine smiles she had smiled throughout her life.

She could even smell the blueberry perfume Kyoko loved to wear so much. Celeste mentioned in the past how much she enjoyed it when Kyoko would occasionally wear said perfume. The fragrance was is someway nostalgic for her. It reminded her of their days at Hope's Peak. But it was strange how she didn't even bother to wear it the night of their date. So, why wear it now? 

Her eyes finally met with Kyoko's cold, lilac ones. But her eyes didn't display any contempt. Instead, there was a familiar hint of caution and seriousness that said: "you better not try anything sneaky." Celeste would assume otherwise if she wasn't already familiar with Kyoko's expression. "Good evening Kyoko. I'm so glad you came....please, take a seat." She said gesturing toward the seat across from hers.

Kyoko didn't return Celeste's pretentious greeting as she took her seat across from her. Celeste wasn't at all offended. She expected her to be cautious of her in the beginning. It wasn't like Kyoko was some naive person who was easy to get over on. She was smart and always alert to whatever potential shenanigans Celeste had planned for her.

Celeste waved Hifumi away causing him to quickly leave for the kitchen. 

"It's nice to know that you and Yamada are still as close as ever." The amount of sass and sarcasm in her statement made Celeste stifle a chuckle. It was one of her favorite things about her. She did always find Kyoko's dry humor charming in a weird kind of way. 

"Is someone jealous? no need to worry my dear.....he is no competition for you anyways." She teased. Kyoko decided that she wouldn't dignify that with a response. She was aware that Celeste was just trying to get under her skin. Kyoko being jealous? Oh please...And of Hifumi of all people. The thought itself was ridiculous enough. 

"However, I do think it's strange that you two are still this close after all these years." 

Celeste shrugged. "Oh you know....he is useful when I need him to be." As she said this Hifumi returned to the room holding a tray containing two beverages. One containing coffee....the other royal milk tea. It was a good thing that Celeste had already planned ahead. She was well aware of Kyoko's preference for coffee over tea 

She took a small sip of her tea as Hifumi looked on nervously. After a few silent seconds of savoring the taste, her lips curved into a small smile."Excellent as always...You may leave for the night." Her tone was cold and condescending, but both of them know it was just an act. It's something that he had gotten used to over the years. She would never reveal her nicer side in front of their company. Even if the said company was just a former classmate of theirs. 

Once Hifumi made his exit, Celeste had begun officially planning her strategy against Kyoko. Her lilac eyes still hadn't shifted away from her gaze. Most people would probably find this weird or creepy, but this was the standard for them....even after all these years. Kyoko was already aware of what Celeste was after. She was always aware of the gambler's crush on her, but still....she never gave in. However, this wasn't some simple innocent high school crush...This particular crush seemed to be everlasting...

"Alone at last..." Celeste said resting her chin on her hands as she playfully flirted with her. 

Kyoko's eyes shifted away from Celeste's down towards the chessboard. "I presume you invited me here for a game of chess?" She asked ignoring Celeste's antics. She let out a small chuckle. A rarity for her....but it wasn't enough to catch Celeste off guard. Of course, that didn't mean that she wasn't appreciative. Not everyone was lucky enough to see this side of the normally stoic detective. "Just like old times...Very well. I suppose I could accept your challenge."

Celeste's innocent smile contorted into a more mischievous one. She knew Kyoko wouldn't be able to resist a good game of chess. She could tell by the way Kyoko smirked at her that she was just as excited about this as she was herself. Everything was going according to plan. "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist." She giggled. "But please be warned...I am still the ultimate gambler and my skills are unmatched."

She allowed Kyoko to have the first move. However...It didn't matter in the end. Celeste had numerous amount of tricks up her sleeves to combat Kyoko's intelligence. That was another quality of hers that drew the gambler in. Despite winning most of their matches, she always admired Kyoko's intelligence and thought of her as a worthy opponent.

She watched closely as Kyoko contemplated her first move. It was quite amusing to see her so concentrated even though her loss was inevitable. "So....was this really your intent all along? To just invite me over to play a game of chess with you?" She asked after finally making her move. Celeste giggled at this. It wasn't a surprise that Kyoko would question her intentions. 

"Why of course dear. I feel like our date a couple of nights went a little....sour." Her smile fell as she spoke and moved her piece. "I just wanted to do some catching up. Did you have something else in mind?" 

"No. Actually.....what made it turn out that way? Was it because of something I did?" At that moment several questions began running through Celeste's head. Was Kyoko being genuine with her concern? Did she really care? Did she really care about Celeste's feelings? Or was she simply trying to beat her at her own game? Kyoko isn't dumb. She knows exactly why Celeste was upset that night. 

Celeste decided not to respond to this as she took a sip from her cup. She either didn't know how to respond or she already knew Kyoko was just messing with her, Either way..she had no intention of responding to that silly question. Honestly, this was more than just about their 'little games' In reality, Celeste couldn't care less about winning in this scenario. All she cared about was fulfilling her desires. It was selfish to think like this, but this is what Celeste was. Selfish. She didn't care to do anything for other people unless it benefited her directly. 

After a few moments of silence, Celeste let out a small sigh and began to speak. "You already know how I feel about you." She spoke flatly, not even looking up from the chessboard to see Kyoko's reaction. She didn't need to. There was nothing to see. Kyoko wasn't the type of person who used facial expressions to express how she was feeling at the moment.

Kyoko opened up her mouth to speak but was quickly interrupted, "I can't believe I've liked you for this long..." She had completely dropped her accent at this point and the air in the room had become heavy. "I honestly thought after all these years, I'd be over it, but obviously..that's not the case. You just keep finding your way back to me." A small chuckle escaped her lips, but someone like Kyoko could tell it was a forced laugh.

"Oh! it looks like I've won...how surprising." And just like that her faux accent was back and she had returned back to her 'normal' self again. Her expression did not display that of a woman who had just full-on confessed her love for someone. But that had more to do with the fact that this wasn't her first time confessing to Kyoko. Kyoko had always brushed her off, but Celeste being who she was..stayed persistent until the day of their graduation. Even after Celeste's unsuccessful attempt to woo the detective, they both promised that they would keep in contact with each other. Obviously, that didn't happen.

Kyoko didn't know why she felt so uncomfortable. It was just Celeste. She trusted her, but she just couldn't shake this uneasy feeling. This was supposed to help take her mind off work for a while. It did, but it also brought on more problems. Great. Her heart was beating at an almost inhuman pace. She wondered if Celeste could hear it...The silence in the room was so deafening that Kyoko was sure she could. _"Why is it so quiet? Why isn't she saying anything?"_ Her thoughts were becoming more frantic...she needed to leave. 

"It's getting late. I should probably head home now." She spoke suddenly hoping that Celeste wouldn't notice the slight panic in her voice. Just as she stood up from the table, she heard a loud boom noise as the rain began to violently smack against the windows outside. Kyoko froze in place as she realized the situation she was in. "You could not possibly be thinking about going out in that horrible weather right?"

Kyoko glared at Celeste as she already knew what she was implying. But she quickly fixed her face when she realized the genuine concern in the gambler's expression. She wasn't sure why she was giving her such a dirty look. It wasn't like she could control the weather and if nothing else, Celeste did genuinely care about her well being. On the other hand, maybe it was kinda her fault. Maybe if she had paid better attention to the weather reports, they would not be in this situation. No, it's mean of her to think that way. The weather had probably been the furthest thing from her mind when she invited her over. 

"Before you ask....yes you may stay until the weather clears up." Kyoko wanted to protest and decline her offer, but It wasn't like she had much of a choice. Going out there in that kind of weather would be foolish.

"Fine...But I am only doing this because there are no other alternatives. So, please don't try anything." She was hesitant to speak and her face displayed a serious worrisome expression. Celeste thought this was adorable. But she also found it quite insulting that Kyoko would assume that she would ever try to do anything to her. "Come now. As much as I like you....you know I would never go there with you."

" I know. I was just making sure you understand."

"Good. Now, how about we get a little bit more comfortable..." Kyoko shot her another glare in response earning a chuckle from the gambler. "Calm down. I am only joking my dear. Unless...."

"Celeste."

"Very well then." The two of them made their way over to the couch where they watched a simple romance movie. Celeste made a conscious effort to sit on the other side of the couch so that Kyoko would not suspect her of anything. However, Her mind was anywhere but on the movie. The last thing she wanted to do was pressure Kyoko into doing or saying anything, but she grew more impatient by the second. Her instincts were telling her that this wasn't just a regular meetup. She needed to know....she needed to know exactly how Kyoko felt about her. Why did she have to be so damn hard to read?

The silence between them was maddening to the gambler and Kyoko hadn't taken her eyes off the Tv. She wondered if Kyoko was really interested in the movie or if she just wanted to avoid talking to her. It drove her mad on the inside, but she was able to keep her composure. After all, she didn't want to risk scaring Kyoko or making her uncomfortable. 

"So...There's something I've been meaning to ask you." 

Celeste didn't speak, but she slightly turned her head towards Kyoko's expressionless gaze. She thought nothing of it. It wasn't uncommon for them to have random conversations. Starting random conversations about almost anything. That's just how Kyoko was...And Celeste tolerated every bit of it. 

"You're the ultimate gambler and we've played many games together in which you've won." Celeste raised an eyebrow at this. What was she getting at here? Why state the obvious?

"How come you never took advantage of that? You know...like used a bet to get me to go out with you or something." There was that expression that Celeste found so adorable. It was uncharacteristic for her to display such an expression. Yet...it seemed to fit her perfectly. Someone like Kyoko being confused bought some kind of weird satisfaction to her. It was a guilty pleasure of hers. She wasn't supposed to enjoy it, especially not in this instance. 

"Is this your way of showing interest?" Celeste teased. She thought that Kyoko was just trying to tease her, but her expression remained serious, which meant that this must have been on her mind for quite some time. "It's simple really.....I'd rather you be with me on your own terms rather than feel like you're obligated to date me because of some silly little bet." In theory, it was correct that she could just use her talent to get Kyoko to be with her, but that would make things worse. Whenever the bet ended, things would just return to how they were. Kyoko would no longer be hers. And she wouldn't be able to deal with that.

"I see..." Kyoko trailed off, but Celeste could tell she had something else she wanted to say but was for some reason hesitant. It wasn't like Kyoko to openly display her feelings of nervousness...but why? Celeste wanted to ask why, but she ultimately decided not to. She didn't want to awaken anything inside herself or Kyoko and make things more awkward than what they already were. But much to her surprise, she wouldn't have to ask. "I know I've been pretty cold towards you lately but...I really did miss spending time with you."

Celeste raised a brow at this. Where was all of this coming from? Why wait til now to say this? She wanted to ask, but just as she was about to, she felt Kyoko shift closer to her on the couch until their bodies were almost touching. "Kyoko what are you-" She was once again interrupted. This time, Kyoko had grabbed a hold of her hand. Celeste was left speechless by the detective's actions. 

But it didn't stop there. Things got even more confusing as Kyoko took her hand and placed her palm over her chest. At that moment, Celeste could feel her face heat up and she honestly hoped that her makeup was enough to cover it. This was not expected at all. 

"Can you feel it?"

It was Celeste's turn to be nervous now. "...Can I feel wha-" Before she could answer, the feeling of Kyoko's heartbeat made her stop in her tracks. This was so unlike her. Celeste began to wonder if she did or said something to make her uncomfortable. Was that the reason she decided to bring this to her attention. She was a professional gambler, so, she was used to operating intense environments. But nothing could compare to how she felt right now.

Feeling that she might have accidentally made Kyoko uncomfortable, Celeste gently pulled her hand away from her chest. There was another moment of complete silence. Neither of them knew what to say or how to respond to their current situation. This wasn't like their time at Hope's Peak. Their time together usually consisted of light-hearted teasing and few flirtatious remarks from Celeste, but now things seemed different.

Celeste could feel herself blushing and wondered if Kyoko was doing the same. Honestly, she hadn't made eye contact with the detective since that weird interaction from a moment ago. The normally composed and confident gambler found herself feeling small as she was afraid to even look at the other woman for some reason. Her feelings had never been this intense before. She never thought she'd feel this way towards anybody, let alone Kyoko.

Despite her racing thoughts, she finally mustered up the courage to look over at the detective who seemed to be just as nervous as she was. Kyoko stared down at the ground avoiding the gambler's gaze. And there it was......Celeste couldn't help but smirk to herself. There was still some doubt there, but she was a lot more sure of herself this time around.

"I see you have finally decided to stop playing hard to get." She sounded confident on the outside, but on the inside, she was still nervous. During their high school days, she always felt it was a possibility that Kyoko liked her back. But once the two of them graduated and stopped speaking, she assumed any potential relationship they could have had was already dead. Clearly, that wasn't the case.

However, Kyoko didn't say anything to confirm or deny what Celeste was saying. Silence is golden. Celeste knew Kyoko well enough to know that she wasn't very good at expressing her feelings and that she likely stayed silent out of fear of making things worse. Her face remained expressionless, but the flush in her cheeks was still very noticeable and revealed a lot. "You know Kyoko I always knew you-"

Kyoko pressed her finger to Celeste's lips to shush her. "Just shut up and kiss me."

Celeste was taken aback by that. To hear someone like Kyoko speak that way was both exciting and somehow worrisome. She quickly regained her composure and gently grabbed her by the wrist to move her finger away from her mouth. "You don't know how long I've been waiting to do this..."

Kyoko didn't get a chance to respond because before she knew it, the gambler's lips were pressed up against hers. She could practically feel her heart beating out of her chest. She wrapped her hands around Kyoko's waist to pull her in closer and once again...She didn't stop her. The feeling was exhilarating. Sure she's kissed people before, but it was nothing compared to locking lips with the one person she desired the most. If kissing felt this good, she wondered....No. It's best not to push her luck here. She pushed her desires into the back of her mind for now.

It was Kyoko who finally pulled away....much to Celeste's disappointment, but she wouldn't complain. She had already gotten more than what she deserved. "It's getting really late..." She said after clearing her throat and trying to break the awkward silence. Celeste couldn't help but notice she was slightly blushing. Honestly, she was doing a poor job at trying to hide how flustered she was. But Celeste was one to talk. She could feel herself blushing as well.

"But the weather is still bad. No? You know I wouldn't mind you staying here for the night." 

Kyoko looked hesitant and Celeste couldn't blame her, but there was no reason for her to feel uncomfortable around her or not trust her. Despite her crush, she had always respected Kyoko's personal space and would never go further than subtle playful flirting. Of course, considering what just happened a few moments ago, things were different. Still....under normal circumstances, Celeste would not be blatantly asking Kyoko to sleep with her, but she also refused to let her go out in that awful weather.

"Okay. I suppose us sleeping together isn't so taboo since I know you respect my boundaries." Celeste smiled and nodded at her. "Very well then. Shall we head upstairs then?" She asked holding out her hand for Kyoko. With Kyoko's hand in hers, she led her upstairs to the bedroom. 

Once inside the room, the two of them walked to their respective sides of the bed. There was an awkward silence between the two of them. Clearly, this was new territory for both of them. Celeste wanted to ask if everything was alright, but Kyoko stared at her as if she were annoyed by something. What is the problem now? Celeste had not even said or done anything. She was confused until she noticed a slight hint of red spread across the detective's face. That was when she realized what Kyoko was trying to say.

"Honestly." She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. Knowing that there was no winning here, she turned her back to Kyoko. And her suspicions were confirmed when she heard the noise of clothes shuffling behind her. She thought this was ridiculous considering they were both women, but she understood and respected Kyoko and her privacy.

"Okay. You can look now." 

Celeste turned around to see Kyoko had already undressed and got under the covers. _"So adorable."_ She thought to herself. She turned away and began removing her own clothing. She didn't care if Kyoko saw her or not. Unlike Kyoko, she wasn't as embarrassed by thought as the detective was. After she changed into her nightgown and removed her extensions, she crawled into bed next to a blushing Kyoko who was still avoiding making eye contact with her. "It's okay. I don't mind if you look." Celeste teased as she wrapped her arms around her. 

Kyoko ignored her remark and instead moved closer to her."Watch your hands, Celeste." She spoke sternly after Celeste managed to coax her into letting her cuddle her. Celeste giggled and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Of course my dear. Now...why don't we get some sleep"

"Goodnight Celeste."

"Goodnight dear."

The calming sounds of the storm made them both drowsy. So, it didn't take long for them to drift off. It was the start of something great for the gambler. She had gotten with the one person she wanted. Things would be moving slow between them, but she was ready to deal with that for the sake of her happiness.


	5. Feelings of Doubt

Her eyes slowly fluttered open as she finally woke up from her slumber. It took her a while to register what was going on. Something felt different. She felt a bit warm and her bed was a little less spacious for some reason. Ah...that's right...Kyoko stayed the night because of the bad weather and they ended up sleeping together. 

Celeste carefully untangled herself from Kyoko and got out of bed. It was difficult trying to gather her thoughts when she felt so many things at once. Her long time crush seemed to return her feelings. So, she should be happy right? If only it were that simple...Unfortunately, being a liar herself has led to her developing some insecurities of her own when it comes to dishonesty. She was lucky that Kyoko was an honest person and wasn't the type lie to get what she wanted. She trusts her. 

She quickly left the room to go shower downstairs leaving the upstairs bathroom to Kyoko just in case she woke up while she was away. 

Once she returned to the room she found that Kyoko was still in bed, but she was awake. Greeting her with a smile and a casual good morning, Celeste began walking towards the bed. Kyoko quickly covered her semi-exposed chest when she realized she was still in her underwear. This cause caused Celeste's smile to fall as she stopped in her tracks.

"You do know that we are both women right? You do not have to hide. Also, there is the fact that we are dating now..." Celeste said as she stood over the bed staring down at a flustered detective. Kyoko glared at Celeste as she hid her body under the covers. It was a silly thing to do. It wasn't like Celeste would pounce on her the moment she saw her body. 

"You say this as you're covering yourself with a towel." Celeste wasn't sure if she was joking or not. It was always hard to tell with Kyoko.

"Oh? I would have never guessed the great Kyoko Kirigiri had a naughty side." She giggled as she walked over to her closet to search for a fresh set of clothes. Even with her back turned, she could tell that Kyoko was watching her. "Careful dear. If you stare too much my towel might accidentally fall off." It was at that moment Kyoko realized she was staring at Celeste more than what she intended to. However, Celeste didn't mind it one bit. If there was one person she didn't mind gawking at her in that manner, it was Kyoko.

Kyoko ignored what Celeste said and climbed out of the bed. This was surprising to Celeste since she had not even made an effort to cover herself this time around. She wondered if she just forgot or if she just didn't care anymore. It didn't matter to Celeste either way. She was enjoying the sight. Kyoko being an attractive woman was a no-brainer. Anyone with eyes could see how beautiful she is. But something about seeing her in such a natural state was enough to leave Celeste mesmerized. 

Never in a million years, would she ever think that she would get to see Kyoko like this. She was almost like an angel the way her long lavender hair flowed and shaped her frame. This left her wanting nothing more than to reach out and touch her. No...She wanted to do more than that...But she knew that she couldn't. Not unless Kyoko wanted her to. She may struggle with self-control, but breaking Kyoko's trust was simply not an option. Especially at such a crucial stage in their relationship. 

"I think you're enjoying yourself a little too much..." She finally spoke snapping Celeste out of her mesmerized state.

She was right. Even though she liked Kyoko, she needed to maintain her composure. She cleared her throat and quickly averted her gaze away from the detective. "Ah...Pardonne moi, ma chérie. Where are my manners? I left some clean towels in the bathroom for you to freshen up with. Just let me know if you need anything else." Without waiting for a response, she walked over to Kyoko and gave her a small kiss on the cheek before leaving the room to give her some privacy.

Celeste made her way into the next room over and began getting herself ready. Something about this was just rather odd. She was already aware of the fact that Kyoko was more reserved and probably wasn't used to being with someone like this....or maybe she was and just wanted tease Celeste. But for what reason? She was intelligent, witty, and could probably be just as cunning and manipulative as Celeste. But the difference between her and Celeste was that she was an honest law-abiding person who liked to maintain the status quo. While Celeste liked to use her talents to manipulate and con others into doing whatever she wanted. 

She was once again lost in her thoughts, but the sound of the doorbell brought her to attention. Who could be visiting her at this hour? Oh well...probably no one important. She shrugged and decided to leave it to her butler. There were more important things for her to worry about! Like she and Kyoko's relationship and to less extent, applying her makeup. Unfortunately, as she was in the middle of putting on her makeup, she was once again interrupted by a knock on her door. There was a small twinge of anger flaring up inside her at being interrupting her, but she held her composure. Maybe it was just Kyoko looking for her.

However, much to her disappointment, it was just her butler. Despite her disappointment, she still managed to keep calm. "I'm terribly sorry for interrupting you Ms. Ludenberg, but it seems that Mr. Yamada has decided to pay you a visit. Shall I invite him in?"

Celeste let out a deep sigh. "What could he possibly want?" She asked to no one in particular. She sighed in defeat. It would be rude to just tell him to go away after came this far. "You may invite him in. Just tell him to wait for me downstairs. I'll be down in a few minutes." 

"Very well. I'll let him know."

Geez, how annoying. After her butler left, Celeste began hurriedly applying her makeup out of fear of being interrupted again. Once she finished, she left the room and couldn't help but notice that her bedroom door was still closed. That must mean that Kyoko is still inside getting ready. It made sense. Although it seemed out of character for her, Kyoko was a very attractive woman and probably took a while to get ready. Not as much time as Celeste, but a decent amount. 

She wouldn't dare disturb Kyoko by knocking on the door. Instead, she made way downstairs to see why Hifumi decided to show up unannounced. When she reached the bottom of the staircase, she found him standing there with a nervous look on his face. What is the problem now?

"You're not supposed to be here today!" She said through gritted teeth trying desperately not to yell or get too angry. She didn't want to alert Kyoko. However, that didn't stop Hifumi from shrieking in fear of her wrath. Her anger was something she needed to work on. 

"P-Please mistre-I-I mean Ms. Ludenberg. It's something really important." Celeste was glaring daggers at him for multiple reasons. And honestly, she was almost inclined to just ask him to leave. But that wouldn't be fair. He had always been there to listen to her problems when she needed him to and she was working on being a better person these days, so, denying him would be too mean. Realizing the predicament she was in, she sighed in defeat.

"Fine, what is it that you need help wit-"

"What is going down here?"

The two of them had stopped in mid-conversation when suddenly appeared in the room. _"Great."_ This was one of the main reasons she didn't want Hifumi here today. It was already weird enough because Celeste had not even heard her come downstairs. Was this some kind of feature that came with being a detective? Makes sense. "Why is Ms.Kirigiri here at this hour?" It took everything for Celeste to not roll her eyes. 

"Did you two have some sort of a sleepover?" He asked. Celeste initially thought nothing of his question, but then she noticed the heavy breathing and perverted look on his face. It was at that moment, the rage began to build up inside her. Kyoko looked as if she wanted to say something, but the chance for her to speak never came.

"Piece of shit!" She shouted so loud that her voice traveled throughout her large house. It was so loud that if she lived in an apartment complex, the whole building would probably hear her. "Listen here, you mind your goddamn business you human bag of lard!" Her voice was shrill was and lacking its usual accent. While Kyoko remained mostly unfazed by the gambler's outburst, Hifumi had scrambled to his knees and began profusely apologizing to her. 

Celeste was really trying to change and be a better person. She really was. But unfortunately, others around her (Especially Hifumi) made it difficult. It couldn't be helped. Sometimes because Hifumi would relapse and needed to be put in his place. Like now.

Meanwhile, Kyoko seemed completely uninterested in what was happening and was ready to leave. Celeste noticed and quickly made her way over to her. "Ah...are you not going to eat anything before leaving?" 

"No. I'm expecting a busy day at work today. So, I'd better head out." She said blandly as she walked toward the door. She seemed cold and distant for some reason. Celeste wondered if she had done something wrong or if Kyoko was just uncomfortable with the current situation. 

"Nonsense. Going to work without a healthy breakfast is complete blasphemy."

Kyoko stared at her as if she was annoyed about her offer. Celeste couldn't help but be annoyed by that reaction. All she did was offer her some breakfast before she went off to work. The least she could do was show a little appreciation. It almost seemed as if she just wanted to avoid being around her. Or maybe she was being honest about having a lot of work to do and Celeste was just overthinking...again.

"Fine. But I can't stay long." Much to her surprise, Kyoko accepted her offer. Reluctantly, but still better than outright rejecting it. "Lovely. I had my butler prepare an assortment of different foods. You may have whatever you like." She led Kyoko into the dining room where they sat at the table across from each other. Kyoko decided on a simple piece of toast and a cup of coffee while Celeste went with a buttered baguette. She always enjoyed the fancier things in life.

The two of them sat in silence for the most part. Celeste had a lot that she wanted to say but wasn't sure how to bring it up or if she should bring it up at all. She knew Kyoko hated small talk, but it would be weird to just bring up out of nowhere. The woman had barely looked at her since they sat down...and she didn't like that. She seemed more interested in her phone than Celeste. 

"Did you sleep well last night?" She spoke after what felt like an eternity of silence. It was weird. She had known Kyoko for Years and never had any problems talking to her, but in the present moment, she struggled with doing so. "It was alright. I slept about as good as anyone would sleeping in someone else's bed." She replied coldly not looking up from her phone. 

Celeste could feel herself becoming more annoyed by this whole shtick. She knew that Kyoko probably wasn't the best at expressing herself, especially when it came to any romantic feelings. But that didn't give her an excuse to treat her this way! Still...she couldn't bring herself yell at her or talk to her in the same way that she did Hifumi. She was struggling so much that she nearly drew blood tightly clenching her fist in anger under the table.

"What's wrong?" Kyoko asked as she finally looked up from her phone. 

"I...It's nothing dear. Celeste was a little taken aback by the detective's concern. She didn't even think Kyoko was paying attention to her. She wondered if she was secretly watching her and was only pretending to be interested in her phone. That was the only explanation she had for the detective's sudden concern. Kyoko was a woman of many talents. She was smart and shrouded in a veil of mystery. And on top of that, she was as gorgeous as the pure night sky. She was the exact kind of person Celeste would fall for. 

Kyoko stood up from her seat. "Um...thanks for this." She said hesitantly. Celeste didn't think much of this response and just sat there absentmindedly picking at her breakfast until she looked up and noticed Kyoko was slightly blushing. She was about to ask what wrong, but then Kyoko walked over to her. and gave her a kiss on the cheek. That certainly caught her attention. "Anyways...It's about time for me to get going." 

"I see...try not to work too hard dear." 

"I'll try to keep that in mind." Those were the last words she spoke before walking off to work. Celeste badly wanted to ask her about her behavior but it would be hopeless. Kyoko would just give her the cold shoulder treatment and brush it off. All she could do was stare off into the distance like a lonely housewife. It honestly bothered her how inconsistent Kyoko was with her.

The girl was like a light switch. One moment she seemed to actually like Celeste, the next moment, she acted as if though she wanted nothing to do with her. Seriously, why couldn't she just be honest about how she really felt? Celeste was a notorious liar, but she never once lied to Kyoko...Maybe she was expecting too much too soon. Maybe...

Celeste shook her head once again trying to clear her mind. She needed to remind herself of who she was. Celestia Ludenberg would never allow herself to become too wrapped up in how someone else felt about her. Even if that someone was Kyoko. 

Either way, it was time to stop thinking about her now. She still hadn't had her morning tea yet. She was slightly annoyed to find that Hifumi had not yet brought it to her. The nerve of that fool. Always slacking off. It wasn't uncommon for him to make simple mistakes such as these considering how imperfect he was. This type of behavior from him would usually be met with shouting and a plethora of insults from the gambler...But right now she just didn't have the energy for such a thing. Everyone was getting on her nerves. 

Just as she was about to go look for him, the door suddenly burst open with Hifumi carrying tray with milk tea.

"Honestly....slacking off again? Have we not discussed this already?" She said in an annoyed tone of voice. "If you can not do something as simple as have my tea ready on time, how do you expect to become the perfect servant?" The way she spoke was harsh, but the truth is...she promised herself that she would be 'nicer' but it was hard to do that with the number of mistakes he made. 

"I-I-I'm aware, but I couldn't help it. You see...I was up all night working on my latest project. And I was hoping you would read over it.." Celeste raised a brow at him. The nerve of him to ask her for a favor after displaying such incompetence moments ago. 

"Fine." She sighed. Normally Celeste would have shut him down by now and went on a rant about how stupid he was for suggesting she would read his crap. But things were different now. 

This wasn't the first time he had asked her to do this. In fact, it had basically become a routine thing for both of them. He would begin working on a new project and she would sit down with a cup of milk tea prepared by him and critic it. Celeste was the queen of liars and lied about many things, but if there was one thing she was honest about it was Hifumi's doujin. Rather brutal, but still honest nonetheless. 

The only problem is, she doesn't exactly like reading things of this nature. She's always preferred to read romance novels that were more realistic and had substance. And a lot of doujins were just too vulgar for her tastes. Well...at least the ones he drew. It was weird actually. She didn't really understand why she agreed to this, but yet...here she was reading what she would consider an abomination. 

Celeste took her usual seat at the dining room table as she sipped her tea and began to look over the contents of Hifumi's notebook. He took a seat next to her and waited eagerly for her to finish. She had barely managed to keep her face from twisting up into an awful scowl as she read. But, it wasn't bad for someone who enjoyed reading this sort of thing. Of course, it was to be expected to come from Hifumi. After all...he was the ultimate fanfic creator. 

"So...How was it Ms. Ludenberg?" 

"It was certainly interesting, to say the least....I'm sure the intended audience will find it enjoyable."

Honestly, she was only halfway paying attention to the book. She really wasn't in the mood to be doing this today. Her mind was still elsewhere. No matter how much she wanted to stop, she just couldn't stop herself from overthinking. It was like every insecurity she had resurfaced and refused to go away. And that was the cause of her overthinking. But could it really be considered overthinking if she had a legitimate reason?

"Is there something troubling you m' lady?"

She heard him, but she didn't respond...She sat there silently twirling a lock of her hair and blankly staring down at her teacup. The tea had barely been touched. Not needing any further explanation, Hifumi awkwardly made his exit from the room. It wasn't like this was a first-time occurrence. Any time she acted like this, it was a sign that she wanted to be left alone. 

Celeste had not yet reached a point where she was comfortable with an opening to anyone yet. Not even Hifumi...He wasn't even aware of her feelings for Kyoko and likely just assumed the two of them were close friends. In fact, no one, not even their other classmates knew about it. Considering the fact that both she and Kyoko were private people, no one ever knew about Celeste's small crush on Kyoko except the two of them. 

She finally took a sip from her teacup slightly wincing at the not so fresh flavor of it. Normally she would just call Hifumi in to make her another cup, but right now, she didn't feel like dealing with him. Now was the time for her to reflect on her emotions and get herself together. There was nothing more left to do other than to settle in with one of her favorite novels and try to enjoy the rest of her day. 

It wouldn't be much of a busy day, but it would certainly prove to be a long one. 


	6. The Taste of Peaches Under the Moonlight

Four days wasn't really considered a long time for most people, but to Celeste, it seemed like an eternity. She hadn't seen or talked to Kyoko much at all during that time frame. Their only form of communication was via text message...And even then their conversations would be short and baseless due to Kyoko's cold and distant nature. But Celeste didn't complain much. She was aware of Kyoko's career and how busy it had kept her.

Celeste sat at the table twirling a piece of her hair around her finger out of nervousness. She didn't know why she was nervous...It wasn't like Kyoko would stand her up or maybe she would. She had been there for quite some time already. 

Celeste left an anonymous note at Kyoko's doorstep to convince her to spend more time with her at her favorite cafe. It may seem crazy or excessive to most people, but someone like Kyoko wouldn't be able to resist a mysterious note left by an 'anonymous' perp. She was a professional detective that loved mysteries and enjoyed the thrill that came with solving them.

There was a small amount of optimism residing within her that she would show up and that this date would go better than their last one. That's what she was hoping for. Not only that, but she also decided she wanted to do some investigating of her own to understand Kyoko's motives. It wasn't like she wanted to believe that Kyoko had alternative motives, but there was just something there that wouldn't let her think otherwise. 

If there was one thing being a professional gambler had taught her it was that she should always trust her gut. Even if it involved questioning someone she fancied. She liked Kyoko...She really did, but there was no way she would allow herself to be made into some kind of fool.

The bell to the entrance of the cafe rang throughout the hollow building. It was late, so the cafe was nearly empty with the exception of the employees and a few other customers. And now...Kyoko. Celeste smiled lovingly at her, but all she offered in return was a neutral expression void of any emotion.

She was wearing her usual work outfit, which consisted of a plain white blouse and a violet-colored skirt. Kyoko was never the type to dress up. Normally Celeste would be bothered by this, but she understood Kyoko and her reasonings. 

"I'm actually surprised to see you here so early. I expected someone like you to be fashionably late." She spoke taking the seat across from Celeste. She wanted to ignore the snarky comment made by the detective, but it would probably make things a little awkward. Knowing Kyoko, she would likely catch on to Celeste acting even just a little bit out of character. So, she decided to humor her for the time being. 

"Of course not my dear....at least not for you." She purred adding emphasis on the last part. Kyoko smirked at this and took her seat across from Celeste.

"I guess you're right. I should have suspected as much coming from my little 'secret' admirer." She said referencing the fact that Celeste decided to anonymously leave roses and a love letter at her doorstep the other day. She made sure to set it up to where only Kyoko would know who the items came from. However, that didn't stop Kyoko from being embarrassed by the gesture. Celeste was already aware of the fact....to her, it was her way of getting back at Kyoko for being so cold towards her before. 

"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about."Celeste lied. Kyoko didn't even bother responding to her as her expression remained neutral. She knew that Kyoko assumed she did it because she just wanted to mess with her. However, Celeste's intentions were a lot less transparent than that, but there was no way she would reveal her true motives to the detective.

Truthfully, Celeste left her those things as some kind of test. Just to get a response from Kyoko. It may seem petty at first, but it was an important step for her because she needed to confirm whether Kyoko's interest was genuine or not. And to do that she would need to basically play a game of 3D chess.

Kyoko was here with her now...so, that meant she had actually done what the note said despite her embarrassment at the gesture. This was a good sign because Kyoko hadn't stood her up, but she wasn't out of the clear yet. 

"You came here not knowing if I was going show up or not...That's very bold of you." 

Celeste took a chance on whether or not Kyoko would show up. She would have thought someone like Kyoko would be able to figure that out, but clearly, that wasn't the case. "I would be heartbroken had you decided to stand me up, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. I understand you are very busy...so, you don't always have time to partake in things such as this." That was another lie....she wouldn't have let Kyoko off that easily of course.

"In other words...I'm a very confident person." Celeste shrugged before taking a small sip from her cup. It was nothing more than her doing what she does best....gambling. "But I have a question for you as well." She focused her attention on the woman sitting across from her observing her expression. "I never specified that the flowers and note came from me. You decided to still show up. Why?" 

For a second, Kyoko seemed surprised by that question. Celeste took note of this. "Are you testing me? We've been acquainted long enough for me to know everything about you and how you like to express yourself." She smirked triumphantly at Celeste. Celeste wanted to call her out for being arrogant, but that would serve no purpose. However, that didn't mean that she would concede defeat.

"Do you really know everything about me Ms. detective?" She asked leaning forward as much as the table between the two of them would allow. Kyoko remained unfazed.

"Of course. You know I know everything about you. Isn't that right...Taeko?" She leaned in until her face was only inches away from Celeste's. She wanted to kiss her...but she also wanted to claw her eyes out. She wanted so badly to wipe that smirk off her face. But instead of doing any of that, she just simply sat back in her seat not saying another word. As much as it annoyed her, Kyoko was the only person that could get away with saying her real name without facing any repercussions. 

Kyoko sat back in her chair as well and took a sip from her own cup not even bothering to take her eyes off Celeste. "You know, most people would just communicate via text or phone call." Kyoko's smirk left as her signature stare returned......It was always hard to tell what she thinking when her expression was like this. Celeste had always wondered if this was some feeble attempt to intimidate her or if she was just simply messing with her. She didn't mind it either way. Most people would probably be uncomfortable with this, but Celeste found it amusing in some way. 

"I'm aware, but I communicated in a way that only you would find interesting. Does that bother you?" She already knew the answer to that question already, but she wanted to test Kyoko to see if she would lie. Testing each other was just a part of the little games they played with each other. If they didn't know any better, one might assume it was their love language. 

"It was creative." Was all she said. What was she thinking? Of course, Kyoko wouldn't give her a direct answer to her question. She never did. Celeste hated how difficult it was to communicate with her sometimes. But she wouldn't let herself lose by becoming too agitated. She would be giving the detective exactly what she wants. 

It was kinda annoying, but it was completely out of her control. However, since Kyoko was being so boring, she decided to take advantage of the situation and make her own fun. She took out a small compact mirror from her purse and began touching up her makeup. Kyoko remained silent and still had not taken her eyes off her. Celeste pretended to be oblivious to this, but it was likely that Kyoko already knew she was faking. 

She began slowly applying a thin layer of lip gloss to her lips. Initially, there was nothing out of the ordinary, but she applied in a way that would make the soft subtle plumpness of her lips more noticeable to the detective. There was a subtle yet noticeable change in Kyoko's expression, but she didn't even bother to look away. Even while sipping her coffee, she never looked away.

Her eyes had slightly shifted and were now fixated on the gambler's lips. Celeste assumed that meant she was enjoying the show but made no mention of it. It probably took her longer than what was necessary, but she wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to tease Kyoko. She never did. Especially after that stunt she just pulled a few moments ago.

Once she finished applying her lip gloss, Celeste closed the compact mirror and returned it to her purse. Her newly coated lips turned upward into a devious smile. "My Kyoko, you seem to be enjoying yourself quite a bit there." Kyoko glared at her. She knew exactly what Celeste was doing and hated herself for falling for such tactics."What exactly are you talking about?" Kyoko spoke bitterly not wanting to admit that she'd been caught staring. 

"Kyoko dear...You've been staring at me for the past 10 minutes." That was an obvious exaggeration of her part. It was more like just for the time it took her to apply her lip gloss. But she wanted to emphasize the fact just because she knew what kind of reaction it would get her. Kyoko rolled her eyes finally turning away from Celeste to check her phone. 

"You know, if there's something you want from me, all you have to do is ask. You know I'd do anything for you Kyoko~" 

Kyoko stared blankly at her for a few seconds. Celeste looked on curiously wondering what her next move would be. That was until another smirk appeared on her face. She folded her arms and leaned back in her seat. "You are something else you know that?" She said through a chuckle. Celeste just simply shrugged at her statement. 

"What flavor is it?" Kyoko asked out of nowhere. 

Anyone else would probably be taken aback or even a little offended by that question...especially coming from someone like Kyoko. And normally, Kyoko would never ask someone a question of that nature. She was never a vulgar woman but with Celeste, things were a little different. They both had their own way of talking to one another. They could say and talk about things that wouldn't dare bring up around anyone else.

"Come now, detective. You know me better than that." Celeste giggled. She didn't even bother with further explaining her statement leaving Kyoko to interpret whatever her mind let her. But Kyoko was a smart woman. So, she likely already knew what Celeste was hinting at without even having to think too much about it. 

There was still more to figure out, but it was at least confirmed that Kyoko had some ligament interest in her. It may not be as much as she initially led her to believe...Disappointing, but it was still better than nothing. After all, relationships don't just happen overnight and take time to grow. Celeste was aware of this. Which is why she had to give Kyoko a wider margin for error.

...

After they left the cafe, the two of them were being escorted by Celeste's bodyguard. A rather large man with a hard slightly wrinkled face. He hadn't even smiled when Celeste introduced them. Kyoko would have been a little intimidated by his stature if she wasn't sure he was on their side. She understood why Celeste had chosen him to be her bodyguard. As intimidating as Celeste could be at times, she left a lot to be desired when it came to her physical strength. But with this large man by her side, no one would dare approach her.

Kyoko had previously mentioned that they needed her at work, in which Celeste offered to walk her there. She initially declined, but Celeste was rather insistent. So, she reluctantly agreed, but in the end, she decided that it wouldn't hurt anything."It's rather unfortunate that you have to go." Celeste spoke breaking the silence between them. Kyoko didn't speak or even look over at her, but she knew she was listening.

After about 10 minutes, they had finally reached their destination. They stopped in front of the building and Kyoko noticed Celeste whisper something to her bodyguard, but couldn't quite understand what she was saying. With a small giggled, Celeste turned away from him and walked back towards Kyoko. But before they could begin their goodbyes, Celeste pulled Kyoko away behind the building where they couldn't be seen. Kyoko wanted to ask what the hell she was doing but stopped when she noticed a certain look in her eyes...

"Last time you left...I was disappointed because you didn't give a proper goodbye." Kyoko couldn't tell if it was her imagination or not, but Celeste's ruby red eyes seemed to shine extra bright under the moonlight. Celeste took a step forward causing Kyoko to take a step back. This only prompted the gambler to take another step forward. At that moment she didn't even bother trying to hide her nervousness anymore.

She tried to speak but Celeste placed her index finger over her lips shushing her. There were times when she just didn't understand Celeste or her actions. It worried her at times, but it was also what lured her to the gambler in the first place. And right now, she couldn't tell if she should be worried or intrigued by what was happening right now. 

But there wasn't much time for her to think because she soon found herself being backed into a wall, but before she could say anything or make a move to protest, Celeste pressed her body up against hers. "What are you do-" Her eyes widened in shock when she felt the gambler's lips on hers.

A slight shade of pink quickly made its way onto her face. No, this wasn't their first time kissing, but that didn't stop her from being a little overwhelmed. She wasn't used to the gambler coming on so strong. All of her other advances before now were usually more subtle. But still...It wasn't unwelcomed. She didn't pull away or even make an effort to do so. Celeste kissed her slow and passionately making it even harder for her to want to resist. 

It didn't take long for her to melt into the kiss as her hands subconsciously made their way onto Celeste's waist. She lost track of her surroundings and the only thing she could feel was Celeste's mouth on hers. She could taste the peach flavored lip gloss Celeste used earlier and that didn't help her at all. It only caused her to lose herself even more. Is this what she had been missing all these years? It wasn't supposed to be like this. She wasn't supposed to be in this position. 

Suddenly, Celeste pulled away from her. Kyoko couldn't tell if she should be disappointed or relieved at the fact. But she didn't have much time to think about it as the gambler's lips found their way back to her. This time with her lips pressed up against her neck. She let out a barely audible gasp as Celeste gently sucked on the exposed skin. Engaging in this kind of behavior in public was obscene...it was inappropriate. Especially for someone like Kyoko, but she didn't want it to stop.

She rolled her head back against the concrete wall giving Celeste more room to explore her. Any semblance of professionalism she had was gradually slipping away. She didn't care. The way Celeste would occasionally roll her tongue against her skin nearly drove her crazy. Why did this feel so good? It's not supposed to be like this...

That's what she wanted to believe, but it was so hard to focus on her thoughts so scattered. Her mind and body were working against one another...and her body was winning. She was shuddering and could feel a tingling sensation between her legs. " _Wait, am I...? No...I shouldn't be doing this."_ Of course, she was enjoying it. Otherwise, she would have pushed Celeste away. But, still...she needed to stop. 

It was as if Celeste had read her mind and finally pulled away from her neck. "If only we had more time." She sighed. "But you know....we can continue this another time if you're interested." She whispered in Kyoko's ear receiving another shudder from her. It was subtle, but she knew Celeste was able to catch it. Kyoko said nothing. Neither accepting or declining the gambler's offer.

"It would appear as if though I've won this round detective," Celeste smirked and gave her one last kiss on the lips before turning away to leave and disappearing into the darkness. "Goodnight dear......enjoy the rest of your evening."

Kyoko couldn't think straight. She watched Celeste disappear into the night and found herself lost in her thoughts. She was doing a horrible job of hiding her feelings right now. She wasn't supposed to let Celeste do this to her. It was nothing more than a one-sided attraction on the gambler's end. That was the reason she had never returned her affections in the first place. But unfortunately for her, It wasn't as one-sided as she initially thought. That much had been apparent when she kissed Celeste a few nights ago. 

She was at a loss for words. She was supposed to be ending things with Celeste ages ago, but somehow ended up dating her instead? Kyoko was never the type of person to crave the attention and affection that came with a relationship. This only made things more complicated for her. It wasn't like she was lonely and desperate for some kind of companionship. Work had always kept her busy. So, there was no time to worry about romantic relationships.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the buzzing of her cell phone.

"Right...." Kyoko had almost completely forgotten that she had a job to go to. She sighed tucked the phone back into her shirt pocket. Right now wasn't the time to think about things between her and Celeste. She finally left and returned to her office for the night but not before running into her long friend, Makoto Naegi. 

"H-Hey Kyoko!" He said running clumsily toward her almost tripping over his own feet. There was never a dull moment with him around. Most people may have found him dull and boring. Even she did at some point, but over the years she had grown to adore him and his presence. 

"Where are you going in such a hurry Makoto?" 

"I......wanted to...catch you...before...I left." He panted. He was the middle of trying to catch his breath as she asked him this, so, it took him a few seconds to respond. Kyoko, of course, didn't mind this. His humanly impossible luck caused him to end up in some of the weirdest situations she's ever seen. Most people found it annoying and to be honest, she did too at times, but she always had a little more patience than everyone else.

"Makoto, I already told you...you don't have to check in with me anymore. If you're finished with your work, you can just leave." It made sense for him to have that kind of obligation since she was his boss. But over the years, she had grown to trust him and knew he wasn't the type to slack off. 

"I know, but I would feel bad just leaving without saying anything." Kyoko let out a sigh before unlocking the door to her office. "I appreciate that, but I can take it from here." She said sternly. It came off as cold, but he knew she meant no harm. He simply nodded in her direction and began to take his leave. Kyoko let out a relieved sigh and began to enter her office, but not before being interrupted by Makoto again.

"Hey um, Kyoko. There's something I've been meaning to ask.....Are you feeling okay?" Kyoko's eyebrows furrowed. "Yes. Why do you ask?" She asked seemingly irritated by his question. It was normal for him to express his concern for her from time to time, but the question was a little out of place. Even for Makoto.

"Well, I was asking because your face looks a little...flushed."

Kyoko internally panicked and quickly turn away from him. "It's nothing. I...I'm just a little under the weather." She said as she began fake coughing. There was no way she would come clean about her and Celeste's relationship...at least not yet. It's not that she enjoyed keeping secrets from him, but they had only been officially dating for a small amount of time. 

"Oh...Well, try not to work too hard okay? And remember to call me if you need anything." 

"Right. Thank you, Makoto" She gave him a soft smile before heading into the office for the night. 

This would prove to be harder than she initially thought. How was she supposed to focus on her case with all of this going on? She slumped back in her chair and prepared for another night of researching. It would be hard to focus on the case because her mind was elsewhere. Somewhere it shouldn't be.

She let out a sigh and began working. This was going to be one of those nights...


	7. Ruin Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW

Conflict. An emotion that no one wants to be cursed with feeling. Whether the conflict is a huge or minor occurrence, it has the power to make just about anyone feel despair. Being uncertain and not knowing how your decisions could impact your life was scary. Of course, everybody makes mistakes, but the problem with that is that those mistakes could end up costing you everything. That includes yourself.

To Celeste, loving someone was probably one of the worst mistakes she could have ever made. Love might be too strong of a word, but what she felt for Kyoko was strong. It had not helped that Kyoko had supposedly returned her feelings. She should be happy about that, but in hindsight, it was a horrible idea to hook up with her. All it did was bring out her insecurities and make her question her feelings. Kyoko had never shown any romantic interest in her before...She made that much clear during their days at Hope's Peak. So, why the sudden interest?

Currently, she found herself in a rather interesting scenario. This time, Kyoko was the one to invite her to spend some quality time together. When Kyoko had invited her back to her place for a simple game of blackjack, she just couldn't resist. It was how the two of them bonded. While most couples spent their time cuddling together, Celeste and Kyoko spent their time in mostly silence playing games together. 

"I have to say, I'm very curious about you my love." She spoke whilst looking down at her cards. She was only half paying attention to the game and was still somehow winning. Kyoko peeked up from her set of cards to look at Celeste.

"Is that so? Well, what is it that you're so curious about?" 

Celeste smiled like a child that had just gotten away with something mischievous. Normally, this wouldn't bode well for the other person, but she had no ill intent this time around. This was just how she was. She loved to tease and was a stickler for finesse. Especially when it came to Kyoko. 

"I wanted to ask you a question about your line of work...you know...get to know you better." Kyoko simply nodded at her telling her that it was okay to ask her questions. It seemed innocent enough. The two of them still had a lot of catching up to do. But that wasn't the only thing on Celeste's mind. She also wanted the answers to more complicated questions without having to ask. 

"You seem like a trustworthy person. Tell me....why do they trust you so much?" Celeste had begun shuffling the cards as she waited for the detective to answer her question. It was vague, but it was a question that would require Kyoko to put some kind of thought into it. 

"I've never given them a reason to not trust me." Kyoko paused for a few seconds as eyes remained focused on her cards. "I always put logic before emotions...meaning that I seek the truth and never let my emotions get in the way of that. Even if it hurts." 

Celeste's smile fell at this. Although this had answered her question, it was not something she wanted to hear. But deep down she already knew. She knew that if it were necessary, Kyoko would sacrifice their relationship for her job. But there was no reason to think about that. Outside of gambling, Celeste hadn't done anything wrong, so, there was no reason for them to be put in that sort of position. 

Despite that, the two still had quite a unique dynamic. Celeste was the queen of liars and Kyoko was a seeker of truth. They were complete opposites. At some point, she had wondered if that was why she and Kyoko had been so close to each other. 

"Oh! It looks like I've won. How surprising!" Celeste said sarcastically as she suddenly changed the subject receiving a glare from the detective. But it didn't last long as her face soon returned to its neutral state. Losing to Celeste wasn't a once in a lifetime thing. She is still the ultimate gambler after all. So, Kyoko couldn't be too down about it. 

"It's still early. why don't we play another one?" 

Celeste sat there and pretended to contemplate Kyoko's offer. It's not that she didn't want to play. In reality, she wanted to spend as much time as possible with her, but she wanted to make things interesting. She and Kyoko never made bets and these games would always be played for fun. All that did was prove how much she liked Kyoko. If this had been anybody else, she would have cleaned out their entire savings account by now. It would be different this time, but she didn't want Kyoko's money or possessions. She wanted something else...

"Of course dear. But I want to make things more interesting." She said smiling devilishly. Kyoko raised a brow at her in return. Celeste never went too far or crossed any boundaries with Kyoko, but that didn't stop the detective from weary of some the little stunts she'd pull.

"What do you want?" She sighed. Celeste vowed to never use her talent to take advantage of Kyoko, but now that they were kinda dating, she could bend the rules a little bit without feeling like she was taking advantage of her. 

"A kiss.....If I win, you have to let me kiss you."

"That's it?" Kyoko looked almost surprised at the gambler's wager. 

"You seem disappointed. Were you expecting more?" Celeste had once again begun shuffling the cards. She didn't wait for Kyoko to answer her question. It was already obvious that she was expecting her to ask for more than just a kiss. "Or have I misunderstood our relationship?" She paused in the middle of shuffling the cards to stare down the detective. 

Kyoko's expression showed the slightest hint of surprise."No...I'm fine with it. But you do know that you don't have to make a bet to get me to kiss you right?" It was so childish and juvenile even for someone like Celeste. You would think she would suggest something a little more risque.

"I know dear. I just wanted to make things a little more fun. Now then, let's get started shall we?" She began shuffling the cards once more before dealing them to the detective. She was aware of Kyoko staring at her in confusion but decided to ignore it and focus on the game. Honestly, was is it that hard to believe that she just wanted to have some innocent fun?

After some time had passed, Celeste had unsurprisingly won the game and was sitting there smiling at her opponent. It was an innocent smile, but Kyoko could tell it was all just an act. Celeste suddenly, but gracefully stood up from her seat. "I'd like to claim my prize now.." She said smirking devilishly at the detective. But Kyoko just sat there unfazed by her actions. After all, it was just a kiss. It wasn't like it was their first time doing this.

"You know staring at me like that isn't going to intimidate me right? This isn't even our first time kissing." 

Celeste giggled at her words and began to slowly walk over to where she was seated. She had to reduce the urge to roll her eyes. Kyoko could be so arrogant at times. It was very typical of her to try to downplay things whenever Celeste would mess with her. But that made humbling her all the more fun. She leaned down so that her face was just inches away from Kyoko's. Once again the detective remained unfazed by her.

"I never specified where I was going to kiss you." She whispered in her ear.

In an instant, Kyoko's face began to heat up thinking about the implication of those words. Celeste silently gave herself props for accomplishing what she wanted from the start. It was always fun to mess with Kyoko. Celeste gave her a brief kiss on the cheek and stepped away from her observing her expression. Kyoko was almost stunned by the gambler's actions. It was an expression that Celeste found satisfying. Kyoko was rarely affected by her mischievous antics...so, this was considered a win by her standards. 

"What are you up to?" Kyoko said getting up from her seat and walking over to Celeste. Just like she had predicted...Kyoko would not be able to just let things go after that. Celeste had done something completely out of character and she was determined to get to the bottom of things.

"I already told you...I just wanted to have a little fun." She shrugged. She told the truth, but Kyoko wouldn't buy it. Celeste rolled her eyes. She couldn't understand why Kyoko refused to trust her. Well...maybe she did have a legitimate reason. Celeste was a liar...But she never used that to hurt Kyoko.

"Is something the matter dear? You seem a little...on edge." She had been around Kyoko long enough to know that it upset her whenever she couldn't figure something out. It was one of the few reasons she liked to tease her. "You know.....if you wanted me to do more than that, you could have just asked." She purred said taking a step forward towards the detective. 

Kyoko stood there staring blankly at the gambler only showing a slight trace of confusion. It was the same expression Celeste had grown to love so much. It always reminded her that even the normally stoic detective was capable of expressing her emotions. Of course, this was something she had already found out ages ago, but that didn't make it any less exciting for her. In fact, it excited her in more ways than one. She was sure Kyoko was aware of this by now.

Cupping the detective's face in the palm of her hand, she slowly leaned in and placed her lips upon hers. Kyoko didn't try to pull away. It didn't take long for her to become encased in a world where only the two of them existed. Having composure was an important feat for someone like Celeste. She prided her entire existence based on how elegant and composed she was. But even she was allowed to let loose at some point...and that time was now.

Celeste was relentless and had little to no regard for their need to breathe. This session was a little more aggressive than all the previous ones, but Kyoko didn't seem to mind. If anything, she reciprocated the gesture...which slightly surprised the gambler. But now wasn't the time to worry about that.

At some point, they found themselves on Kyoko's couch. Neither of them knew how it happened and honestly, they didn't care. Celeste found her hand wrapped around Kyoko's neck as if to pull her even closer despite that being impossible. They were already as close as they were ever gonna be. It was almost like their bodies fit perfectly together like a jigsaw piece. Neither of them wanted to stop. 

Celeste decided to make her next move by sliding her hands underneath Kyoko's blazer feeling out her curves. Kyoko didn't stop her. This prompted her to begin slowly shuck off her blazer. She reluctantly broke the kiss to plant soft kisses on the detective's neck. Kyoko remained mostly unresponsive, only closing her eyes and rolling her head back against the couch to give Celeste more space. 

The lack of response annoyed Celeste, but wouldn't let that get in the way. She had some tricks of her own. "Kyoko..." She whispered continuing to place kisses around her neck gradually moving up until her lips against Kyoko's ear. Still no response...This calls for drastic measures. "You are just too stubborn for your own good." 

"I-...Ah~!" Before she was given a chance to respond, Celeste's tongue brushed up against the shell of her ear. "My, is that all it takes to get you in the mood~?" Kyoko shook her head. She was trying to avoid further humiliation by remaining silent. 

"You...You can't just do that.." Kyoko said through her grit teeth. She was grimacing, but it was not because she was angry, but more so because she frustrated. 

"Do what?" Celeste dragged her tongue along the shell of Kyoko's ear before softly nibbling on it. "Make you cum?" Kyoko let out a barely noticeable shudder. But it didn't go unnoticed by Celeste. 

Kyoko was stubborn, but Celeste vowed she would have her begging for more by the time this was over. She kissed Kyoko's jaw and returned her attention to Kyoko's neck where she began kissing and sucking on the sensitive skin. Her hands returned to exploring the detective's body...except this time. she focused on her more sensitive areas. 

It was almost hard for her to believe that she had got this far with the detective. If this had been years or even days ago, Kyoko would have stopped her by now. But here she was....with the woman she longed for, under her mercy. Kyoko had given herself to her...and she was more than willing to accept. 

She began working at the buttons to Kyoko's blouse in a rather clumsy manner. Celeste was never a clumsy person and normally she would be a lot more graceful with her movements, but at this point, she had allowed her emotions to take over. She had waited years for this moment. 

Once she peeled the shirt off the detective's shoulder, her eyes began to focus on the now exposed skin. There was something about the way her lavender bra contrasted her smooth pale skin that drove her crazy. Kyoko was beautiful in every way and no one could deny it, but seeing her like this was something different. She leaned in to kiss the detective again but was interrupted by her placing her finger on her lip gently pushing her back.

"While I am enjoying this, I don't think it's fair that you haven't removed any of your clothes yet..." Her tone was playful and under normal circumstances, Celeste would have found it endearing considering Kyoko rarely showed this side of her. But now, she was annoyed...All this did was delay her getting what she wanted. Despite this, she complied and began removing her blazer and tossing it on the floor next to them. She would regret this later on when ironing the wrinkles out, but right now, she didn't care about that. 

Soon after, her skirt fell around her ankles and she pushed it into a pile with her blazer. Meanwhile, the detective's eyes stayed fixated on her movements. Celeste realized this and smirked as she began undoing the buttons to her blouse...but she stopped once she reached the middle of her blouse.

"That's all you get for now," Celeste said teasing Kyoko. She could see the slight disappointment in the detective's expression but ignored it to place another kiss on her lips. 

Now that she had more access, Celeste began to suck and nip at the skin around Kyoko's neck and collar bone causing the detective to let out soft whimpers. Celeste soon found her fingers slipping beneath the elastic material of Kyoko's bra and from there, she began slowly slide the straps down her shoulders. 

There was a slight moment of hesitation coming from both of them. Celeste didn't want to make her uncomfortable by being too hasty and Kyoko was just nervous about the whole ordeal. But ultimately they were able to look past that as Celeste placed a soft comforting kiss onto the detective's lips and proceeded with removing her bra.

Celeste reached down to fondle Kyoko's now exposed breast lightly pinching her nipples and flicking them with her thumb. Kyoko barely reacted to this, but she could tell by the way her body tensed that she was just purposely holding back. It was funny to her how Kyoko still managed to tease her, even at a time like this but she didn't mind it much. All it did was make her want to show her even more pleasure.

Eventually, her lips found themselves brushing up against the hardened bud, but she wouldn't let her feel the warmth of her mouth just yet. This was a special moment for her and she wanted Kyoko to feel all of her. Her breath tickled the detective's sensitive skin as her hands disappeared under her skirt. 

Suddenly her tongue darted out to graze against the hardened bud causing Kyoko's body to slightly jerk at the contact. She clasped her mouth around the hardened flesh, sucking and teasing with her tongue... Without any warning, she began rubbing Kyoko slowly and gently through her panties trying to egg her on even more. "Hmm...so wet for me." She whispered to her. Kyoko was too far gone to respond to her. 

It didn't take long for the detective to begin whining and shuddering as Celeste continue working her mouth and fingers. She was honestly surprised at how a normally stoic woman could succumb to such a state. She always knew Kyoko had a different side to her, but she'd never seen her like this before. She wanted to see more of this.

Celeste popped her mouth off Kyoko's chest and smirked at her. "It's okay if you want to call out for me. I am here to please you after all." She said as she applied more pressure to her clit trying to elicit more sounds from her. Kyoko bit down on her lip and shook her head. 

"Celeste." She spoke sternly causing the gambler to lift her head from her chest. Celeste was a little bit confused and assumed that she had done something wrong by the tone in Kyoko's voice. She thought Kyoko had changed her mind and was going to tell her to stop, but...

"I need you to stop teasing and get on with it. I....please. I can't take any more of this." Her tone was still serious, but it had something else to it this time around. Almost like she was begging. Celeste shushed her and let out a small giggle. "Just...Relax and let me take care of you darling." 

She kissed her one last time before pressing her back against the couch. Not wasting any more time, Celeste straddled her and went back to rubbing Kyoko's clit with her thumb while using her weight to apply more pressure. As she did this, Kyoko began to let out soft whimpers. Celeste took this as a sign that she was doing the right things and continued rubbing. 

Her eyes shifted down towards Kyoko's face to see the detective staring up at her with red cheeks and her bottom lip tucked between her teeth. Celeste couldn't help but grin at the site. But as much as she wanted to tease her more, she couldn't deny how attractive she looked like that. All this did was fuel her arousal further. She carefully lifted herself off Kyoko to remove her panties.

"If you ever feel uncomfortable, don't be afraid to tell me to stop. Okay, darling?" Kyoko silently nodded at her.

She used a finger to tease at the detective's entrance watching her closely to see how she reacted to the contact. When she saw that Kyoko was okay with what she was doing, she took the next step in sliding her fingers in. Kyoko let out a small gasp causing the gambler to briefly pause her actions. Kyoko gave her another nod to keep going. There was a moment of slight hesitation but after a few seconds, Celeste began slowly pumping her fingers in and out of the detective's entrance eliciting soft moans from her.

Kyoko wanted so badly to tell her to move faster, but couldn't form coherent sentences in her current state. She let out a desperate needy whine hoping that Celeste would get the message. "impatient are we?" Celeste teased. She picked her pace twisting her fingers and massaging the detective's walls. Despite how long her nails were, she was able to move her fingers in a precise way that wouldn't hurt or make Kyoko feel uncomfortable. Kyoko wasn't sure how she managed to do this, but it felt good. 

"C-Celestia~" Kyoko moaned out clutching on to Celeste as if her life depended on it. There was something about hearing her name moaned out that excited her even more. Celeste used this as motivation to give her more pleasure. She used her thumb to stimulate her clit causing her squirm even more. Her moans became louder and more frequent which signaled that she was approaching her orgasm.

Kyoko arched her back and let out one loud moan as her arousal spilled over. Celeste continued to pump her fingers allowing the detective to ride out her orgasm.

After Kyoko had finally come down from her orgasm, she looked over to see Celeste licking her fingers clean of her fluids. She quickly turned her head in the opposite direction to hide her blush. "Didn't I tell you I would show you a world of pleasure?" Kyoko's already flushed face became brighter at that statement as she shot Celeste her infamous death glare. 

"Shut up." She said rolling her eyes at the gambler's cockiness. Celeste took great pleasure in making Kyoko blush like that. She was about to make another snarky comment until she felt Kyoko scoot closer to her on the couch and wrap her arms around her. It was a bit surprising for her at first. Just a few days ago, Kyoko seemed a lot more cold and distant. And now, she was like this...

_"Such inconsistency."_ She thought to herself. However, she didn't have time to think too much about that as their lips met once again, this time with Kyoko's hands wandering around the gambler's body. 

Kyoko finally managed to undo the remaining buttons on Celeste's blouse in which she gladly removed. "Oh my, you're so eager..." She said through a giggle trying to keep herself composed as Kyoko began trailing kisses down her neck.

"Hm? I'm only returning the favor." Kyoko stopped briefly to allow herself to reach around and unhook Celeste's bra.

"Well, don't let me stop you, dear." 

Kyoko went back to leaving trails on Celeste's neck until she came into contact with hardened flesh. This caused Celeste to let out a small moan, but she was able to quickly regain her composure. No matter how bad she wanted Kyoko, she wouldn't give in that easily. She relaxed and sighed in delight at the feeling of Kyoko's tongue playing with her. 

Kyoko's fingers made their way into the gambler's panties and began to toy with her clit. Celeste's back arched slightly, but that as much as she willing to give. To keep herself composed, she gently ran her fingers through the detective's hair, careful not to pull too hard. But that didn't last long as she suddenly felt Kyoko's fingers enter her. Celeste let out a squeak and began to tug at Kyoko's hair causing the latter to moan. Perhaps she had uncovered a new kink of hers. But now wasn't the time to tease her about that. Not while Kyoko was knuckle-deep inside of her. 

"Oh, so you are capable of making noise." Kyoko teased as she lifted her head to smirk at Celeste.

"Shut the fuck up and stop teasing already!" Celeste spat through her gritted teeth. Kyoko kissed her jaw and began to slowly pump her fingers in and out of Celeste. At this point, any idea of her keeping her composure and teasing Kyoko had dwindled as she seemed to know what she was doing. Was this not her first time? 

If this had been any other person, she would feel great shame being reduced to this. But surprisingly enough, she felt no shame at all. All she felt was pleasure building up inside her. There was no shame in the way that she tugged at the detective's hair or how her name rolled off her tongue as her movements got deeper and faster.

Her entire body shuddered as Kyoko's lips found their way to the sensitive spot on her neck. She wasn't sure if this was just coincidence or if Kyoko had somehow figured where her spot was. It didn't matter anymore because the moment she felt teeth clamp down on her sensitive skin, she could no longer contain herself. The heat rushed to her nether regions as she laid there seeing stars. For a moment, she couldn't even believe she existed.

"You're not the only one who's talented here..." 

Her smug expression annoyed Celeste, but she also felt as though this were a gift from the gods. She wrapped her arms around Kyoko's neck and pulled her into a deep kiss. 

"You're gonna ruin me one of these days." Kyoko stared blankly at her. Celeste could tell that she didn't know how to respond to her, but she could tell she didn't mean anything by it. She just laid her head on Celeste's chest as she listened to the gambler's steady heartbeat. Celeste lovingly stroked Kyoko's hair as the detective began to slowly drift off to sleep.

"....And I'm perfectly fine with that." She said before planting a soft kiss on the other girl's forehead and falling asleep herself.


	8. Can't Get Enough of Her

Being a detective wasn't the life she chose rather it was one that she was born into. Since Kyoko was a small girl, she had been groomed by her grandfather to carry on her family legacy of being a high-level detective. He didn't want her to end up like her father. Despite some of their differences, she managed to keep a very civil relationship with her father. 

During those periods of grooming, she was taught to abandon her emotion because all it did was get in the way of things. For the most part, Kyoko did a good job of keeping her emotions regulated. She put a lot of pressure on herself to live up to the Kirigiri standard. She had become one of the best detective's in the country and maybe even possibly the world. 

However, there were times when she did allow her emotions to get the best of her. It was disappointing, to say the least, but she was only human at the end of the day. She sometimes craved affection just like a lot of other people. So, she couldn't be as emotionless as she wanted to be. It was something that she came to realize and accept in her adult years. This acceptance led to her opening herself up to the idea of having a romantic partner.

Usually, she had no interest in dating, but that wasn't the case now as she and Celeste's relationship has gone to take on a more intimate form than normal. Unfortunately, it also led to her being very confused about her own feelings...

_"I need to stop this..."_

Her thoughts were racing as she thought about everything that had been happening over the past couple of weeks. Things were not supposed to turn out like this. In the end, it would lead to nothing but broken promises and another broken relationship. It wasn't intentional of course. She knew she needed to stop, but it seemed almost impossible at this point.

She and Celeste had been meeting up with each other quite often. Their meetups usually only involved sex. Usually, after those sessions were over, nothing was said. Barely any words or romantic gestures were exchanged. It would just end with them silently rolling over to sleep or getting dressed and going on about their day. This didn't make things any less complicated. 

Meaningless sex was all she got out of this. What she and Celeste had going was more than just a friendship, but less than what an actual relationship consisted of. It also didn't help that she could tell Celeste wanted more out of their relationship. Whenever it was time for them to part ways, she would always notice how sad she looked. It bothered her as well, but she just didn't know how to express that. Kyoko knew that deep down Celeste was a lonely person and craved attention.

There were times when Celeste liked to take her out in an attempt to spend more time with her, so it wasn't always about sex, but even then, it would eventually lead to that point. She had the option to decline anytime she wanted to but never did. Normally someone like her had more self-control, but work was always stressful, and there was no denying that their sessions left her feeling a lot more relieved. But at what cost?

Ruining their relationship was something she wanted to avoid. The truth is...she cared a lot about Celeste as a friend but wasn't too sure if she wanted a relationship with the woman. A part of her didn't mind the prospect of them being in a relationship...The other half felt like she wasn't ready for a relationship.

Celeste had expressed to her on numerous occasions how annoyed she was when she chose her job over her. Of course, Kyoko would just brush it off. Both of them knew that Kyoko was a busy woman, but that had not stopped it from causing problems in their relationship. The last thing she wanted was for this relationship to become a distraction for her in the workplace. 

Even now, the detective found herself knee-deep in paperwork with inappropriate thoughts streaming through her mind. She grimaced slightly at her own foolishness becoming increasingly frustrated. Kyoko was a woman who cared a lot about her career and hard work above all else, but here she was struggling with keeping her focus because her thoughts were all over the place. This was certainly not a way to work. 

She sighed and reluctantly stood up from her desk. "Maybe a cup of coffee will help take my mind off things." She murmured to herself as she left the office in search of the break room.

The hallways were dimly lit and most of the offices had their lights off signaling that most of the other employees had already gone home. It wasn't surprising to her. It was close to midnight. At one point, she thought about retiring home herself, but that wouldn't help her current predicament at all. She would not be able to use work as an excuse not to see Celeste. She didn't mean to avoid her like this, but she needed time to herself to sort out her thoughts. 

After finally reaching the break room, she was relieved to find it empty. It seemed like no one had been in here for hours which means she was likely the only one left in the building. Or so she thought...

Her entire body went stiff as the door creaked open behind her. Kyoko wasn't one to be easily frightened, but the thought of someone cornering her in the desolate building was enough to make her blood run cold. And walking around in silent, empty building late at night was already creepy enough.

Just as she was about turn around to confront her attacker.

"K-Kyoko?" Her body immediately relaxed upon recognizing the nervous voice that had called out to her. 

"I assume you're not here to murder me?" She teased as she turned around to greet them with a playful smirk. It didn't show, but she was kinda shocked to see that Makoto was still here at this hour. 

"What? Of course not! I would never do anything like that!" He said waving his hands in front of him to emphasize his point. Kyoko couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Makoto was one of the few people that could make her laugh. He was always so easy to tease and she took great solace in having him as one of her dearest friends. 

Kyoko returned her attention to the coffee maker. "I know. I was just messing with you. Would you like me to make you a cup as well?" She didn't turn around to see him, but she could tell he had a worrisome expression on his face. Very typical of him to be so worried about her. 

"I'd like that." He responded with a smile. 

Once Kyoko finished preparing their coffee, they sat across from each at one of the nearby tables in the break room. She normally preferred to be alone, but she didn't mind Makoto being there. If there was anyone that was allowed to interrupt her alone time, it was him. 

"What are you doing here at this hour Makoto?" She asked narrowing her eyes at him. She took note of the embarrassed expression that spread across his face. She figured it must have been something silly based on his facial expression. Either way, it likely wasn't something that was worth hiding, but that was just how he was. He was easily embarrassed by the smallest things and honestly, Kyoko found it adorable. She would never admit it out loud though. 

"W-Well, you see...I got all the way home and realized I didn't have my house key. So, I figured I must have left it in my office." Kyoko suppressed another chuckle as she watched his face become increasingly brighter. Small moments like these were always a good way of taking her mind off things, but that didn't last long as she was soon reminded of why she was still here in the first place. 

"Why are you still here Kyoko?" 

"Just trying to get some extra work done." She didn't like the idea of lying to a friend, but it would be hard for her to just come out and be honest about every that had happened. She still had not told Makoto about her and Celeste hooking up. 

She felt that it was shitty to keep secrets from her friend, but she wasn't sure how to bring it to him yet. However, no one could blame her. It wasn't easy to just come out and admit she was screwing their former classmate. She could tell by the look on his face that Makoto knew that there more to what she was telling him. Luckily for her, he decided to not question her any further. 

"It's getting late. Perhaps we should call it a night?" 

The two employees made their way through the silent hallway and out the door. The walk was mostly silent with them exchanging a few words here and there. It was awkward because both of them knew that something was bothering Kyoko. He wasn't always the smartest guy around, but they had been friends long enough for him to be able to read her like an open book. 

"Hey. You know you can talk to me if there's anything wrong."

Kyoko wanted to get defensive because of the randomness of the statement, but she stopped herself before saying anything. Makoto hadn't meant any harm by making that statement. He was only being a good friend to her. She silently nodded at him thankful that he wasn't the type to pry too much into her business. "It's fine. Don't worry about it Makoto." She gave him a reassuring smile before exiting the building. 

Makoto had offered to walk Kyoko home, but she respectfully declined. Afterward, the two said their goodbyes and went on their own way.

Kyoko was now left alone with her thoughts still nagging at the back of her mind. Spending time with Makoto helped take her mind off things, but unfortunately for her, it was only temporary. A part of her started to feel some regret about not letting Makoto take her home, but it was already too late. She even started to wonder if Celeste was still awake at this hour...It was possible. 

She sighed and reluctantly began pulling out her phone to make a phone call. 

She almost immediately regretted it afterward. This situation was already embarrassing enough. Now, here she was, standing there, making desperate phone calls in the middle of the night as if she was some kind of fiend or addict. Celeste probably wouldn't respond to her anyway. So, this was just pathetic and pointless. This needed to stop. It was unprofessional and it was starting to interfere with her daily life.

The phone rang for a while and at first Kyoko thought she wouldn't answer, but she ended picking up at the last minute. Kyoko couldn't tell if she was more relieved or bothered by the fact. She wasn't angry at Celeste for answering, but more so at herself for not having an excuse to just go home and forget about this night. 

"Hey. Are you still up?"

"Barely. Why do you ask?" 

Kyoko felt her cheeks grow warm. She had little to no experience with expressing her feelings. So, even the mere thought of asking for more attention was embarrassing enough for her. "Kyoko are you still there?" Celeste's voice brought her back to attention. One thing she noticed was that Celeste sounded like she was more awake now compared to when she first answered the phone.

"I'm here. I uh......I just wanted to see you. If that's alright with you."

There was a small giggle on the other end of the line. Kyoko was sure that Celeste would have something snarky to say about her contacting her like this. And normally that would bother her, but she wasn't in the right mind to get upset with her right now.

"Of course my love. How could I ever say no to you~?" That definitely didn't help the situation. All it did make her even more flustered. She hung up the phone and began shamelessly making the journey to Celeste's house. 

This was going to be a long night. 


	9. You and Only You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW

Kyoko was never the type of person to struggle with self-control. Emotions were something that never gave her any problems whenever she needed to keep them hidden. The only time she needed to do this was when it was related to her job. Letting your emotions get the best of you during an investigation was not ideal. But this wasn't the reason she currently sought to hide how she felt. 

Her relationship with Celeste (If it couldn't even be called that) was the reason for her suppressing her emotions this time. She didn't know why she was doing it. She and Celeste were already close friends before this whole thing even started. So, it was only natural that she would develop some feelings for the girl, but it still felt weird.

She had rejected her for so many years and now all of a sudden, she returns her feelings. There was a possibility that those feelings were there from the start and she was just stubborn to realize it.

Kyoko even acknowledged the possibility of her just having a guilty conscious and forcing herself to have feelings for the gambler. She would never admit this out loud, but she didn't like it when Celeste would flirt with other women. She didn't like it one bit.

There would be times when they were out on dates and Celeste would chat up waitresses or stare at them for too long and Kyoko found herself being agitated by her actions. Was this jealousy? Maybe...But, even so, she had no one else to blame, but herself. If she would just be straight up and tell Celeste how she felt then this wouldn't be a problem.

Celeste had already confessed to her several times before. So, getting her to return her affections wasn't an issue, but she was still unsure of herself. Was she just lonely? Or had she actually developed some kind of feelings for the gambler? Celeste could be such a troublesome person at times, but she still had a certain charm to her. On top of that, she was attractive. Even without her usual aesthetic. Despite her reluctance to date her in the past, Kyoko never denied that. 

Now wasn't the time to be thinking about this though. She rested her chin on her hand and absentmindedly flipped through an obnoxious amount of paperwork. She had already let this situation take up too much space inside her mind. Right now, it was time to work. Refocusing her thoughts, she pulled out a highlighter and began marking key points in her research.

Then suddenly...there was a soft knock at the door. Kyoko rolled her eyes and called for them to enter her office.

The door opened and assuming it was one of her coworkers, she didn't even bother looking up from her paperwork. But that quickly changed when she heard the voice of her new fling.

"It's very rude of you not to properly greet me Kyoko." The gambler spoke shutting the door behind her.

"What are you doing here??" Kyoko hissed. She couldn't believe this was happening right now. This wasn't the first time Celeste had showed up at her job, but the last time she did, it was after her shift had already ended. Celeste smiled and began walking towards her desk. Kyoko's expression remained stoic, but on the inside, she was feeling a range of emotions. 

"I felt that you were thinking of me and thought you could use some company." She said nonchalantly.

_"What the hell?"_ Kyoko's eyes widened for a brief moment. "That's not creepy at all..." She said sarcastically, but Celeste paid her comment no mind. Instead, she just took a seat on top of Kyoko's desk folding one of her legs over the other.

"I just wanted to see your pretty face is all." 

"Whatever."

Kyoko tried hard not to stare and returned her attention to the paperwork in front of her. Celestia could be such a tease at times. It also didn't help that knew which buttons to press to get Kyoko going. That was evidenced by how she stared down at her as she worked. She knew exactly what she was doing. But Kyoko wouldn't give in that easily. 

She ignored the gambler's hard stare and continued to focus on her work. Celeste was often time relentless when it came to teasing her. Kyoko knew that which is why she tried her hardest to immerse herself into the paperwork. The fact that she could see her in her peripheral vision didn't help much. No matter how hard she tried to focus, her eyes would occasionally glance over at the gambler. Particularly her legs. 

The blood rushed to her cheeks as those little glances eventually turned into full-blown stares. Her eyes trailed up the gambler's stocking-clad legs until they reached the hem of her skirt revealing her partially exposed thighs. She swore that Celeste's skirt was slightly shorter than usual...or maybe it was just her imagination. She looked up to see Celeste smirking at her. She knew she was staring.

She quickly averted her eyes away from the woman and went back to work.

Celeste carefully slid off the desk walked around to stand behind Kyoko. She was nervous but continued working anyway. "Kyoko dear.." She purred placing her hands on Kyoko's shoulders. Kyoko stiffened at the contact but relaxed once she felt the warmth of Celeste's breath against her ear. "You shouldn't work so hard. You've become so...tense." 

This sent chills down the detective's spine. This was dangerous territory and she wanted to tell her to stop, but then she felt the gambler's hands firmly massage her shoulders. She never imagined that someone like Celeste would be good at giving massages. Then again, Celeste was full of many surprises. Well...it did feel good, so she couldn't complain about it.

There was no harm in a simple massage. Kyoko was tense and needed one. It seemed innocent enough, so she sank back into her chair and let Celeste continue with what she was doing. But that moment of innocence didn't last too long.

Soon enough, she felt the gambler's soft lips pressed up against her neck. She had barely managed to keep herself from moaning. So much for that innocent moment. Honestly, she should have already known. Things between them were never innocent. Especially since they started hooking up a few weeks ago. 

Who was she kidding? She knew from the moment Celeste entered her office that this was going to happen. Kyoko was so entranced in the sensation that she hadn't noticed that Celeste unbuttoned the top of her blouse. This time she couldn't hold back a small moan as Celeste slid one of her hands into her bra and began to firmly grope her breast. At that moment Kyoko knew there was no turning back. 

"Did you at least lock the door?"

Celeste removed her lips from Kyoko's neck and let out a small laugh. "Of course not. Have you forgotten what kind of person I am?" Kyoko wanted to protest, but she knew Celeste loved participating in risky behavior. Although, she had to admit the thought of someone walking in on them was exciting for her as well. 

Celeste stopped what she was doing and walked back over to the desk. This left Kyoko confused and somewhat disappointed since she was enjoying herself. Much to her embarrassment. Celeste tapped the desk a couple of times hinting that she wanted her to sit there. Kyoko didn't even pretend to not know what she meant. She just wanted her to continue with what she was doing. 

Kyoko sat on top of the desk shoving a few pieces a paper to the ground in the process. She had not intended to be so careless, but in the heat of the moment, she couldn't care less about those silly documents. Soon enough, she grabbed Celeste by her tie and pulled her into a rough passionate kiss. Celeste moaned into her mouth and began roughly groping her breast as they deepened the kiss.

Celeste pulled away from Kyoko eliciting a small whimper from the detective. Kyoko hated how needy she'd become towards the gambler. She soon felt Celeste tugging at her panties underneath her skirt. "You won't be needing those." After discarding Kyoko's panties, Celeste positioned herself between her legs. Kyoko wrapped her legs around to pull her in as they kissed again. 

The voices of employees could be heard outside in the hallway, but neither of them cared. Even in her current state, Kyoko was able to somewhat pay attention to what they were saying. It wasn't anything important to her. But the idea that they could just easily open the door and see the scene unfolding in the office...It was a thought that both scared her and turned her on even more.

"C-Celeste, please...I don't want to be too loud..." 

It seemed like Celeste had not cared about being caught because almost instantly, she began kissing and nipping at the skin on her neck ignoring her pleas. It would be awkward trying to explain how marks that weren't there when she first arrived at work got there all of sudden, but she didn't care about that at the moment.

"Fuck!" She hissed when Celeste began toying with her clit. "I hate you so much right now." Celeste giggled at this and kissed her again as she began to rub faster. Kyoko nearly screamed in her mouth. She thought for a moment that they were going to get caught. Luckily for them, the voices outside her office trailed off signaling that they were moving further away. They were completely unaware of what was going on in the office next to them. 

"Thank god...I thought those bastards would never leave. Now I can really start fucking you." 

Kyoko wasn't given much time to prepare herself, but this time around, she was able to stop herself from moaning out when Celeste's fingers slid into her. Her only response was to grab a hold of Celeste's shoulders to hold herself up. She had just successfully prevented herself from making noise before, but she wasn't sure how long she would be able to keep it up. "Kiss me." She whined. 

In an instant, Celestia kissed her driving her tongue into the detective's mouth as she picked up her pace. She swallowed up all of Kyoko's moans as she held on tighter to her shoulder. Celeste pulled away and began peppering kisses down her neck and further down. Her body involuntarily jerked when she felt Celeste's soft lips wrapped around her clit. 

"O-Oh my god..." She moaned out grabbing a handful of the gambler's hair. It was at that moment Kyoko felt everything slipping away. Whatever was left of her composure had already gone away and for a brief moment, she found herself not caring if they got caught. This was rather careless of her, but she so close to her release, that it was all she could think about. That was until Celeste started to gradually slow down. Kyoko was left confused and agitated by this. 

"Why are you sto-"

"Don't you cum until I tell you to." Celeste said roughly interrupting her.

Kyoko wanted to protest, but just as she was about to, Celeste went back to sucking and pumping her fingers inside of her. She let out a yelp before placing her hand over her mouth. She wished Celeste would have warned her before starting up again. Trying to focus on not making too much noise and not cumming at the same time was starting to become a hassle. 

"Kyoko dear..." Celeste's attempt to get her attention went unnoticed. Kyoko was so lost in ecstasy that she had almost completely drowned out her surroundings. Celeste smirked at her. She was enjoying the sight of the normally stoic detective becoming such a mess. She always knew there was more to Kyoko than she let on. And all this was because of her.

Celeste removed her mouth from her clit and began using her thumb to apply pressure bringing her closer to her peak. She could tell she was close by how she tightened around her fingers. But even in her current state, Kyoko was more resilient than the normal person. Honestly, Celeste was impressed with how much Kyoko had been able to hold off. Despite how much she enjoyed it, she knew couldn't let this drag on forever. 

She leaned in and peppered soft kisses on Kyoko's neck feeling the other girl shudder at the contact. "Cum for me." She whispered in her ear.

In almost an instant, Kyoko's body began to shake and quiver as she was finally allowed to let go. Celeste saw that she was still trying to keep herself quiet in the middle of her orgasm and brought her into another kiss. Kyoko moaned loudly into her mouth as she rode out the remainder of her orgasm. 

Once Kyoko was done, Celeste removed her fingers and licked them clean of the sticky clear fluid. She hummed in delight at the taste and looked over at Kyoko was blushing heavily. 

"I'll never get used to you doing that.." 

Celeste giggled and kissed Kyoko one last time before retrieving a small handkerchief from the pocket of her blazer. She began cleaning the other girl up taking notice of the slight shudder that came from her every time she touched her. For once, she wasn't doing it on purpose. She was honestly just trying to be courteous and that had been the furthest thing from her mind at this point. She neatly folded the handkerchief and stuck it back into her pocket.

"I didn't come here to fuck you." 

"You were the one that started it..."

Celeste let out a sigh. She was wondering if she should be bringing this up, especially now of all times. But it was something that needed to be talked about. This couldn't go on forever. "I know. But I didn't come here to do that...I came here to talk about us." Kyoko paused in the middle of fixing her clothes to focus on Celeste. She had completely dropped her accent, which meant whatever she was about to say was serious. 

"And you thought that was important enough for you to interrupt my work?"

"Kyoko please..."

Kyoko was only half-serious when she asked that. She did think it was ridiculous how Celeste would just show up at her job just to "talk" but she assumed it must be important. Celeste was never the kind of person to beg...not even for Kyoko. So, this was clearly something that was bothering her.

She took a deep breath and sat down in her chair and prepared to listen to whatever Celeste had to say. She gestured towards the seat in front of her. Celeste stared at her for a few seconds before taking the seat. It didn't show, but Kyoko was nervous. She wondered if Celeste felt the same. 

"Do you really like me?" 

Kyoko raised a brow. Was this some kind of a joke? "Are you serious? If I didn't like you I wouldn't be having sex with you every time we meet up." This was true because Kyoko would be annoyed if anyone else besides Celeste had come and interrupted her day like this.

"Yes, I know dear. You like the things that do to and for you, but do you like me? You know...as your lover?"

Kyoko opened up her mouth to speak, but something stopped her. She wanted to give the obvious answer, but would that be right? Yes, she liked Celeste as a friend and enjoyed the pleasure she gave her, but she wasn't sure if she was interested in her romantically. 

She sighed. "To tell you the truth, I don't know. There's still so much I'm not sure of yet." Kyoko anxiously chewed on her bottom lip. She could have never imagined that expressing herself would be so hard. 

"I see..." she paused and stood up from her seat. "Well then, I suppose I'll let you get back to work now. "She flashed a fake smile at Kyoko and turned to leave. Kyoko was smart enough to know that it was fake. She looked so hurt just now. _"What have I just done?"_ She didn't have much time to think.

"Celeste wait..."

Celeste stopped but didn't turn around to face her. Kyoko didn't even know what to say, but she couldn't just let Celeste leave on such a bad note. Her struggle to express herself was coming back to bite her. But still...It wouldn't hurt to try at least. She let out a sigh and tried as best as she could.

"Look, I know I'm not the best at expressing myself but...I want to at least try." She spoke hesitantly. It was hard to tell what she was thinking because she had still not turned around to face her. She knew the risks. If things didn't work out, it could potentially ruin their friendship, but she wanted to at least try to have something with Celeste. She would never come to understand her feelings if she didn't at least try. 

"Kyoko..." Celeste spoke and finally turned around to her. Her expression was blank and Kyoko couldn't tell what was going through her mind at the moment. It made sense for a professional gambler to have the world's best poker face so, she couldn't really complain about that.

"Come here." It came off as more demanding than what Kyoko was used to and normally she would be off-put by that tone of voice. But for some reason, she didn't think twice about it as she walked over to where Celeste was standing. "Tell me the truth." 

It was at that moment Kyoko started to feel a small hint of nervousness boiling at the pit of her stomach. Her piercing red eyes bore through her soul like a laser beam. She didn't have a reason to be nervous, it was just Celeste, but yet...here she was. Unsure of what to say or what do. She didn't know if Celeste would just leave her right then and there or if she was just overthinking things.

"I want to be with you." It didn't come out as romantic as she wanted it, but it was the best she could do. "I know, I haven't been treating you the best but...I really like you and I enjoy spending time with you. And I...I wouldn't want this to be with anyone else."

She wasn't completely hopeless in that aspect, but she wasn't nearly as romantic as Celeste was. Her heart was pounding and she was almost sure that Celeste was going to end things right there. Her expression was unreadable but Kyoko could tell she was studying her closely to see if she was telling the truth. Kyoko swallowed hard not sure of what to say or do. 

"I should get going now." She said blandly as she began walking toward the door. Kyoko was left confused for a moment. She had just somewhat poured her heart out and that was the response? Celeste had not said anything to indicate how she felt at the moment. Kyoko suddenly grabbed a hold of her wrist to stop her from leaving. 

"Are you free tonight?" 

Celeste raised a brow. "Of course. Why do you ask?"

"I'd like to take you out and maybe we could...talk things out? It would be my treat." She spoke not sure if this was the right mover or not. She watched as Celeste's eyes widened at that comment. Her mouth curved into a genuine smile. One that Kyoko rarely got to experience. It wasn't often that she would treat Celeste whenever they spent time together, but that would change soon.

Celeste seemed to contemplate on whether or not she'd go. This definitely didn't help with Kyoko's nervousness. "We'll see..." Was all she said before finally exiting the office leaving Kyoko alone with her worrisome thoughts.

After Celeste left, Kyoko plopped back down in her seat. She didn't even think to finish fixing her clothes or clean up the papers that had been scattered all over the floor. Right now, there was so much more on her mind. She couldn't understand why she had just confessed to Celeste the way she did. Why had she allowed any of this to happen? Was she really ready for a relationship? And with Celeste of all people. Either way, it was too late to turn back now. 

The damage had already been done.


	10. Let's Try Again

It was a calm scene at the Ludenberg residence. Kyoko had her face buried in another one her mystery novels while Celeste sat there sowing and quietly humming to herself. The humming didn't bother Kyoko. If anything, it actually soothed her mind, which was strange considering the source. She mistook Celeste for being someone who was capable of that. But then again, it could just be a side to the gambler that only she got to witness. 

Initially, Kyoko was very hesitant about starting a relationship with Celeste but eventually came around to doing so. They talked everything over at dinner a couple of nights ago and they decided that it wouldn't hurt much to try.

Celeste had quite temper, but with Kyoko, she always a little more level headed. One of the main reasons for Kyoko's reluctance was the risk of ruining their friendship. But she believes that it won't affect much of their friendship if the relationship doesn't work out. It may be a little awkward, but nothing too bad.

Kyoko was really into her book until she felt the intense stare of the gambler on her face. She tried to ignore it and continue with her reading, but it seemed like she wouldn't let up. This was nothing new. She was used to Celeste staring at her from time to time so it didn't bother her much.

"Can I help you?" She asked playfully arching an eyebrow. 

Celeste responded with a chuckle and shifted closer to the detective. "Hm? Me staring at your pretty face a distraction for you?" Celeste batted her eyelashes at her. Kyoko tried to hide her smile, behind her book, but Celeste stopped her by pushing it away from her face. At that point, she didn't bother resisting as her blushing face was on full display. 

"What are you doing?" She said through a small chuckle as Celeste began to crawl closer to her. Celeste ignored her question and just continued to move toward her until she was on top of her. Kyoko was initially taken by surprise, but she didn't mind as she wrapped her around the gambler's waist pulling her closer.

"I thought you were supposed to be searching for a movie for us to watch." She asked playfully. Celeste giggled and moved a few strands of hair out of Kyoko's face. "You are correct, but I will not be doing so until I get my kiss." Kyoko rolled her eyes. She wasn't the least bit surprised that Celeste would ask her to do something like that. Not that it bothered her of course.

Kyoko didn't even bother with trying to come up with a witty response like she usually would. Instead, she just pulled Celeste closer to her until their lips were mashed together. She let out a small sigh as their kiss grew deeper. She never mentioned it to Celeste, but she always loved her kisses. She loved the feeling of her soft lips and the taste of whatever fruit-flavored lipgloss she decided to wear.

"Strawberry." She muttered to herself sighing in content. 

When Celeste pulled away, Kyoko almost felt the need to tell her to forget about the movie and stay here with her but decided against it. After all, she didn't want to come off as too needy. Celeste probably wouldn't mind, but Kyoko didn't want to give her the satisfaction. Celeste removed herself from the detective's grasp and began looking for a movie as Kyoko focused her attention back on her book. 

After a few minutes of searching Celeste finally found a movie that both of them could agree on. It was a smooth process, but the subject of blankets and snacks came up. "Consider yourself a lucky lady. I usually never take orders from anyone." 

"Oh? But you're doing it now." Kyoko said with a smug look on her face. Celeste rolled her eyes and got up from the couch. Normally, she would have her butler prepare everything. But because she was doing this for Kyoko, she thought it would be more special if she did it herself. She blew a kiss and winked at Kyoko before exiting the room.

Kyoko wasn't sure how to respond to that gesture, but her face said it all. She could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks. Did that mean she actually liked Celeste as more than just a friend? 

It was hard enough for her to trust someone as a friend, but romantic relationships were another story. It would require her to be more open and intimate than what she was used to. But she and Celeste had already gotten past that point as both friends and lovers. So, the concept wasn't entirely new to her. She absolutely despised the idea of falling in love with someone, but there was no way she could deny these feelings. 

Ever since she and Celeste had decided to make things official, she had been having second thoughts. She wasn't really that experienced when it came to relationships. But if there was one thing she was aware of, it was that she genuinely enjoyed spending time with her. Maybe this is how she felt all along...

Suddenly, her phone buzzed in the pocket of her shirt. When she looked to see who it was, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. It was one of her coworkers texting her about a new discovery in the case that had been working on. Normally, she would be happy to receive such information, but she was really hoping that she wouldn't be interrupted while she was spending quality time with Celeste.

As she began scrolling through the lengthy message, she came across something that made her heart drop into the pit of her stomach. She didn't want to believe what she was reading and wanted to believe it was some kind of joke. But why would someone play a joke on her like this? They would gain absolutely nothing from this. However, this was not a joke.

The suspect that she had been searching for this whole time was Celeste's bodyguard. There were a million things through her mind at once. Was Celeste aware of this? Was she an accomplice of some sort? Being so close to her, she already knew that Celeste was kind of a morally gray person, but she never thought that she was someone who would commit murder. 

The worst part about all of this is that it wasn't just one murder. It was multiple. This person was a literal serial killer and there was no justifying anything if Celeste was somehow involved. Or maybe she was just completely unaware of the fact. That would mean that she could be in some potential danger. The thought of something happening to Celeste made her heart drop even further. 

She was starting to feel uncomfortable again. It was the same feeling she felt when Celeste first invited her over weeks ago. Nothing had been proven yet, so, she knew she shouldn't be feeling this way. It was unfair to Celeste because she could very well be innocent and unaware of what is going on, but she couldn't help it. Her detective senses had already picked up on all of the red flags.

Kyoko quickly put her phone away once she heard Celeste enter the room. She thought about bringing it up right then, but she didn't want to ruin their evening. Besides, it would be reckless to just bring things up right away. That just wasn't person Kyoko was. She needed some time to think things over and plan out how she would approach this. Even if she did have her doubts. 

"I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long." She entered the room with a blanket folded over one of her arms and a bowl of popcorn in her other hand. Kyoko smiled and pushed all her negative thoughts to the back of her mind. Tonight was all about enjoying her time with Celeste. Of course, despite her best efforts to compose herself, Celeste took notice of how uneasy she was.

"Is there something wrong dear?" 

"No, but I still missed you." She said with a little bit of a pout trying to change the subject.

It seemed to work as Celeste giggled at her response and sat down next to her. For now, Kyoko would just go along with things, but she knew that she would eventually have to look deeper into the newly discovered information. This wasn't something that she could just ignore. People's lives were on the line and she had to work quickly...even if that meant ruining her relationship with Celeste.

Celeste sat the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and snuggled up to Kyoko under the blanket. They picked a scary movie, so, Celeste held on to Kyoko a little tighter than usual. She wouldn't say it out loud, but she wasn't the biggest fan of horror movies. She laid her head on Kyoko's shoulder and made an attempt to bare the horror. 

Although she didn't notice it, Kyoko would take note of how Celeste would close her eyes when a really scary part came up. "You know we don't have to watch this if you don't want to right?" Kyoko spoke out of concern as she turned to face the gambler.

Celeste frowned. "What gives you the idea that I don't want to watch it?" 

"One, you keep closing your eyes. Two, you've been squeezing the life out of my hand for the longest now." Kyoko paused the movie. The room was dark and the only light present was coming from the Tv, but she could still see Celeste's bright red eyes. It was cute how vulnerable she looked right. That side of Celeste rarely showed itself. "We can stop the movie right here if you want-"

"No...I may not be the biggest fan of horror, but as long as I have you, I know I'll be fine." Kyoko thought that she was just smooth-talking her until she noticed the softness in Celeste's expression. Her feelings were real. She really felt safe in the detective's presence. 

Kyoko's heart fluttered upon hearing Celeste speak like this. She wasn't sure what came over her, but she suddenly cupped the gambler's face and pulled her into a deep kiss. She slid her tongue into her mouth making Celeste slightly gasp into her mouth. This was surprising to Celeste since Kyoko was usually a little more reserved about her feelings and rarely initiated these kinds of things. 

"Feeling better?" She asked after pulling away from Celeste leaving a thin string of saliva between them. Celeste was briefly dazed but quickly regained her composure. This didn't go unnoticed by Kyoko. Celeste stayed silent, but nodded and gave her a reassuring look. They continued the movie with Kyoko wrapping her arm around her girlfriend and pulling her closer. 

The two of them huddled together under the blanket and got comfortable on the couch. It didn't take long for Kyoko to doze off as her head unconsciously fell on Celeste's shoulder. Celeste rolled her eyes when she realized what was happening. Kyoko was the one who suggested they watch the movie and here she was falling asleep. But...She did look adorable. So, it was hard to be mad at her. 

She carefully ran her fingers through the detective's long lavender hair and planted a kiss on her forehead. She really was at ease whenever she was around Kyoko. It was the happiest she had been in a long time. In the beginning, she had her doubts about dating Kyoko, but now everything seemed to come together for them. 

After the movie ended, Celeste carefully shook Kyoko awake. Kyoko groaned as she slowly lifted her head from Celeste's shoulder. "Wake up gorgeous," Celeste whispered letting her warm breath hit the side of the detective's face. 

"How long was I asleep for?" 

"You slept through most of the movie dear..." 

Kyoko blushed deeply. "Sorry. I may have been a little tired from work earlier." She really hadn't meant to leave Celeste by herself with a scary movie. Especially considering how much disliked those. But she couldn't help it. Sometimes her job would leave her so exhausted that she would end falling asleep even when she didn't want to. 

"Hm..." Celeste removed the blanket and stood up from the couch without saying anything. It was an action that made Kyoko slightly worried. Their date had been so well up until this point and the last thing she wanted to do was make Celeste upset again. 

Celeste grabbed the bowl off the table and walked towards the kitchen. Before she disappeared into the kitchen, she turned her slightly towards a confused Kyoko and smirked at her. What was she planning now?

"You can make it up to me by joining me in the shower. And please don't dawdle...I expect you to not be wearing anything when I come upstairs." With that, she finally left the room not even giving the detective a chance to respond. It wasn't like she needed one though. Kyoko had no intention of declining her offer as she retired upstairs and did what Celeste instructed her to do. 

Celeste entered her bedroom to see that Kyoko had done what she asked. She couldn't stop herself from smiling. Kyoko was beautiful in every way. Even without her gloves, she was one of the most beautiful people Celeste had ever laid eyes on. She already knew what was under those gloves since Kyoko had revealed them to her years ago. 

She held Kyoko's hands and brought them to her lips placing a soft kiss on both of them. This left Kyoko was blushing furiously. Celeste already knew the history of her scarred hands and how insecure and sensitive she was about them. So, Celeste made it her mission to pay extra attention to her hands whenever she was given the opportunity. 

"Well...what are we waiting for?" She united her black and red robe letting it fall to her feet. 

Kyoko could feel her heart practically beating out of her chest. She never felt this way before...She was overwhelmed with emotion. Her entire body and soul were booming with passion. What was happening to her?

"Kyoko are you-" Celeste seemed concerned about her for a moment, but before she could say anything, she was pulled into a deep kiss by the detective. While she was happy to receive the kiss, she pulled away after a few seconds gaining a whimper from the needy detective. She giggled at her reaction. She always loved to tease Kyoko, but that wasn't the only reason she pulled away.

"Come on." She said giggling. "We have to go shower." Kyoko nodded wordlessly and allowed herself to be dragged into the bathroom. Kyoko was feeling extra appreciative tonight and she was going to make sure that the gambler knew that.

After a long relaxing shower, they laid in Celeste's bed holding each other tightly. Kyoko wasn't used to sleeping next to someone like this, but she was more comfortable than she had ever been when she slept alone. She never would have thought that she would be the kind of person to enjoy things such as this. Which made her feel even more guilty...

At this point, she was well aware of the fact that she had some sort of feelings for Celeste. However, there was still something bothering her about their relationship. It was more about her than it was about Celeste. That's right...it was about the new information that was sent to her about the case she had been working on. 

She didn't want to believe that Celeste was somehow involved with all those murders that took place over the past month. But now wasn't the time to let her emotions get in the way of things. If there was one thing Kyoko Kirigiri prided herself on, it was being able to bring about justice. Most people saw her as some cold-hearted bitch, but deep down she really cared for the well being of others. Even more so than her own at times. 

It was almost as if Celeste could feel that Kyoko was under some kind of stress with how she wrapped her arms around her. Kyoko smiled feeling like she was slightly at ease, but that didn't completely erase what she was feeling at the moment. Her job came first...Always. 


	11. Special Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW

"Oh come now Kyoko, you do not have to behave in that manner." Kyoko sightly pouted as Celeste lightly dragged her along the sidewalk. Celeste despite being annoyed by her reaction thought it was kind of cute. Well...she always thought Kyoko was cute. "I just don't understand why this is necessary." She scoffed.

"We are doing this because you need help." She wasn't exactly wrong. Kyoko never had much time to focus on her looks. While she wasn't exactly terribly dressed, Celeste did think that she needed something spice up her current look. Which was why she had dedicated the day to taking Kyoko shopping for new clothes. Much to Kyoko's disdain.

Kyoko never cared about trying to be fancy when it came to dressing herself. She would usually do just enough to not be considered tacky or badly dressed. Her wardrobe mostly consisted of typical business attire. blazers, ties, plain blouses, skirts, and a few pairs of slacks. It made sense considering how she was always busy with her job. Unfortunately, that excuse wasn't good enough for her overly persistent girlfriend. 

Celeste ignored the stares they were getting while Kyoko did her best to hide her embarrassment. Luckily, it didn't take them long to reach the mall. At that point, Kyoko had stopped resisting and just followed along with wherever Celeste was taking her. She was hoping that not too many people recognized them. After all, she was a well-known detective out on a date with Celeste who was also well known (For all the wrong reasons) so, it was a little awkward with the whispers and stares. It didn't seem to bother Celeste in the slightest since dating Kyoko wouldn't be considered as damaging to her reputation. If someone asked, they would just pass it off as two former classmates catching up. 

She was slightly relieved when they finally arrived at the clothing store. They gave a quick greeting to the store clerk and began their adventure through the store. There were a different variety of clothes for summer, clubbing, sportswear, and of course, Gothic Lolita. She assumed Celeste came here often to shop for herself. Kyoko never really shopped for herself and would always order her clothes online whenever she needed them. So, it was natural for her to be a little intimidated by the experience. Most of the clothes on they saw were either too flashy or too revealing for her taste.

Speaking of revealing clothing...Celeste paused in front of the lingerie section and smiled slyly at the flustered detective. Kyoko turned her head away from the gambler trying to hide her blushing face behind her hair. As much as they had been intimate with each other, Kyoko still found it embarrassing when Celeste mentions it or makes little innuendos.

Celeste led her back towards the changing rooms where she gestured for her to sit on a small bench. Kyoko thought it was strange, but she did as she was told and took a seat. "Good girl. Now, I will return in five minutes. So, don't go anywhere okay?" She winked before turning and leaving her there by herself. Kyoko was skeptical but didn't offer any complaints. She wasn't sure how this whole shopping thing worked. So, she figured it would best to leave everything to Celeste. 

She did start to grow a little bit impatient. It seemed like it had been more than five minutes, but when she looked down at her phone, only two minutes had passed. Was this really what shopping was like? How boring. Maybe this was why she never did it herself. At least the store played nice soothing music, which put her at ease a little bit. 

"Sorry to keep you waiting dear. I really hope I wasn't gone too long." Celeste finally returned with two piles of outfits in each hand. Was she really going to have to try all of that on? Kyoko internally groaned at the number of clothes she had but offered to help carry them to the changing room. "Thank you, dear."

Kyoko took one pile of clothes out of Celeste's arms and followed her into the dressing room. "Am I really gonna have to try all of these on?" Celeste giggled. "Unless you've taken a sudden interest in Lolita fashion, no. Those are for you to try on." She said pointing to the pile of clothes in Kyoko's hands. "Now, please undress." Kyoko nodded and did as she was told. 

Unlike Celeste, Kyoko wasn't the biggest fan of wearing dresses and much rather preferred to wear blouses and skirts instead. Which was why the next outfit was a little controversial. It was a strapless plum-colored dress that stopped just above her knees. It fit her snugly emphasizing her figure and all of her curves. Celeste seemed to really enjoy this one. Maybe a little too much in Kyoko's opinion. But overall, she didn't hate it. It was nice to have something a little more fancy for when Celeste wanted to go all out for a date.

She couldn't control the heat rising to her cheeks when she saw Celeste staring at her through the mirror. It also didn't help that the gambler's eyes were filled with mischief and she didn't even try to hide it.

"That dress looks amazing on you." She spoke wrapping her arms around the detective's waist and hugging her from behind. "In fact..." She began planting soft kisses along her neck. "I just want to take you right here...right now..." She whispered in her ear before placing her lips back on Kyoko's neck. Kyoko sighed and bit down on her bottom to keep herself quiet as Celeste nipped and sucked at the most sensitive parts of her neck. She really hated (loved) when Celeste did and said indecent things in public. 

But just as quick as it started it was over when Celeste eventually pulled away leaving Kyoko dissatisfied with the loss of contact. "I want to fuck you right now, but we've already been in here for quite some time. It won't be long until they send someone to look for us." 

Kyoko let out another sigh. "I guess you're right. There's still some stuff I need to try on so, we better hurry." Celeste nodded and released Kyoko from her grasp allowing her to finish trying everything on. After a few more outfits, Kyoko slipped back into her own clothes and neatly organized the other clothes to be paid for.

Kyoko's eyebrows furrowed when she noticed Celeste digging in her purse for her card. "Are you really going to pay for all of this?" She was aware of the fact that Celeste made an endless amount of money gambling, but she still didn't like the idea of her spoiling her like this. 

"Of course. It's only fair considering it was my idea to go shopping in the first place."

Kyoko didn't have a response to this. She was right in some way. Celeste had kind of blindsided her with this shopping date, but it still didn't feel right letting her pay for everything. Celeste also insisted on treating Kyoko to some ice cream once they were done shopping. Of course, Kyoko was reluctant to accept, but Celeste wouldn't let her worry about her spending too much money on her.

"Kyoko dear, you really shouldn't worry so much about me spoiling you. Remember, you deserve it." She winked at her.

"I know. It's just..." Kyoko froze for a moment trying to hide her blush. "No one's ever treated me like this before." She and Celeste had been dating for a while but she still wasn't sure how to respond to things such as this. To say she was overwhelmed would be an understatement. She didn't like making Celeste spoil her, but she didn't want to come off as ungrateful.

"And there lies the issue." Celeste closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. "You are beautiful Kyoko. Not only that, but you also spend so much time working you have to be exhausted yes? It's a crime that no one has come along to treat you the way you deserved to be treated." 

Kyoko just sat there and stared at her for a few seconds. She was at a loss for words. It wasn't like she could deny or downplay what Celeste was telling her. It was true...no one ever treated her this way. But to be fair, it wasn't like she had allowed anyone to get to that point with her. Up until now, she would always shoot down any advances made by both men and women. Celeste's persistence and dedication are what separated her from the others, which allowed her to see a side of her that she didn't even know existed.

Kyoko could feel herself blushing furiously and she hated it. She wanted to maintain her usually stoic face, but that was impossible given her current position. There was no point in trying to hide it now. She smiled and stared lovingly at Celeste for a brief moment not caring about who saw them or about whatever teasing remark coming from her girlfriend. 

"Thank you, Celeste."

...

Kyoko sat on the bed waiting patiently for Celeste to return to the room. She had been gone for quite some time now leaving Kyoko to wonder what she was planning. At one point, she even began to worry about the gambler, but quickly pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She took a sip of wine from her glass and set it on the nightstand. She checked the time on her phone. Celeste had been in the bathroom for ten minutes now. 

Suddenly, the bathroom door slowly opened revealing the gambler standing in the doorway dressed in a black silk robe. "I hope you weren't too lonely without me." She spoke smiling at Kyoko. She had ditched her extensions leaving her short black hair on full display. Kyoko was intrigued.

"What are you up to?" 

Celeste ignored her question and remained silent. Instead, she slowly and silently began making her way over to the detective with a slight sway in her hips. Kyoko watched her carefully not even blinking as if it would cause her to miss something. She cupped Kyoko's face in her palm staring deep into her lilac orbs. Kyoko was nervous and could feel her heart was beating rapidly, but on the outside, she wouldn't let it show.

Celeste brushed a few strands of hair away from before giving her a soft kiss on the lips. Kyoko slightly shuddered at this causing Celeste to giggle. She took a step back leaving the detective disappointed at the loss of contact. Despite this, her eyes stayed glued to the gambler waiting for her next move.

She began slowly untying her robe not taking her eyes off the detective. She could tell Kyoko was anxious even though she tried her hardest to hide the fact. It was such a Kyoko thing to do that Celeste had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. 

The robe dropped to her feet revealing a skimpy black and red lingerie outfit that didn't leave much to the imagination. Kyoko thought she might as well be naked, but who was she to complain? Celeste had been spoiling her all day. There was no need to question such minuscule things.

She picked up her wine glass finishing what was left of the beverage. She was flustered and the alcohol in her system wasn't helping with that at all. "You like what you see detective~?" Celeste purred. She leaned in until her face was only mere inches away from Kyoko's. "I'm all yours..." She whispered in her ear.

Kyoko could see the intense look of lust on the gambler's face as she stared at her. And she was sure she had a similar look on her face as well. She didn't have much time to dwell on the thought as she felt herself being gently pushed to the bed. The gambler's lips met her own and their tongues wrestled together as they took turns dominating each other. Though it was already clear who the dominant one was in this situation. 

Celeste kissed Kyoko's neck and unbuttoned her blouse just enough to reveal her collar bone. Kyoko really wanted her to keep going, but she decided to let the gambler have control for now. She ran her tongue up and down just the way she knew Kyoko liked causing her to let out a soft moan. It was becoming harder and harder for her to contain herself. When she felt Celeste's teeth sink into her neck, that was it. 

"Ju-.....Just take everything off," Kyoko demanded. She surprised even herself with that tone of voice. That was something she didn't know she had in her. She was slightly worried because she knew Celeste responded poorly to being told what to do. But much to her surprise, Celeste didn't seem bothered by it all. In fact, she seemed more amused by it than anything.

"My, you are being very needy tonight detective."

"Well...you are supposed to be spoiling me after all. So, what I say goes." Kyoko teased. She was only half-way serious about that, but Celeste seemed to take her words literally. She got what she wanted when Celeste began slowly unbuttoning her blouse. Kyoko relaxed and let her girlfriend do all the work. That was something she wasn't used to. But what was even more strange was the fact that it came from Celeste of all people. 

Soon enough, every bit of clothing she had on was scattered across the room. It was a bit messy, but Kyoko paid it no mind. Right now she had more important things to focus on. It was a small price to pay for what was to come. 

The room was filled with deafening silence as Kyoko allowed herself to relax once more. She laid there completely nude except for her gloves letting the slightly cool air hit newly exposed parts of her body. She waited anxiously for the gambler's touch, but much to her disappointment, it never came. She opened her eyes to see Celeste staring down at her with a smirk on her face. 

"Aren't you going to do anything?" Kyoko practically whined.

Celeste giggled, but Kyoko couldn't understand what was so funny. She didn't care much for the teasing and games right now...She just wanted Celeste to touch her. She had already been flustered because Celeste had been teasing her all damn day with little comments and gestures here and there. "You said you were in charge. So, I am waiting for your orders." 

Kyoko let out a frustrated huff. She was really taking her seriously huh? In all honesty, Kyoko was really horny and just wanted to be pleased. She didn't care what Celeste did as long as it ended in her having an orgasm. But She knew the more Celeste played with her body and edged her on, the better her orgasm would be. So, she decided to go along with it. "I need your mouth on me...Now."

"So demanding." Celeste teased. She knew exactly what Kyoko wanted, but she wanted to warm her up first. She sat on top of her and began gently groping and massaging her breast. Kyoko let out a small sigh and relaxed into the bed letting her girlfriend do all the work. Occasionally, she would let out a small moan whenever one of Celeste's fingers rolled over her hardened nipples. Celeste leaned down pressing her lips against her as she continued to play with her breast. 

After a while, Celeste ended their makeout session and let her lips trail down to her chest. "You're so beautiful," She spoke between kisses. "You deserve all the love in the world." Kyoko didn't say anything, but Celeste could tell she was enjoying the treatment her body received by how she whimpered and how her back arched every time her lips touched her skin. 

She let out a sharp gasp when Celeste's tongue brushed up against her nipple."Excited?" Celeste asked with a smirk.

"Shut up. You know they're sensitive." She pouted, her cheeks somehow turning an even darker shade of red. Celeste thought Kyoko was so cute whenever she got extremely flustered like this. But now wasn't the time to be cute. She decided to move things along and wrap her lips around the sensitive bud and suck on it. Kyoko whined as she ran her fingers through the gambler's hair. After a while, she went back to trailing kisses down the detective's body until she reached her core.

Celeste ran her fingers through Kyoko's slit causing her to moan out and shudder at the sudden action. She made sure to collect a good amount of fluids on her fingers before bringing them to her face and slowly licking and sucking them clean. "Hmm...still as good as ever." She said winking at her.

She planted kisses on her inner thighs occasionally taking time to nibble and suck on the skin. Celeste buried in between her legs giving soft gentle licks to her folds. She was only warming her for what was to come, but that didn't keep the detective from shuddering and squirming in pleasure. 

Celeste held her down to keep her hips from bucking as she picked up the pace occasionally teasing at her entrance. After a couple more soft licks, she began letting her tongue explore every part of Kyoko's womanhood basking in its flavor every step of the way. Her licks became deeper and more coordinated driving the detective further into a state of pure ecstasy.

Kyoko tugged at Celeste's hair causing the latter to groan, but she kept going despite the slight pain. She wouldn't dare stop. Not until she gave Kyoko one of the best orgasms of her life. She focused her attention on her clit licking increasing her pace after every stroke. When she looked up at Kyoko, the detective had her thumb clenched tightly between her teeth. 

She didn't like that Kyoko was trying to silence herself. So, she made it her mission to draw out as much noise as possible from her. So, she started to put most of her focus into stimulating her clit causing her to cry out. 

"Ah!...C-Celeste please," Kyoko whined. "Please...D-Don't stop!" 

Celeste would be smiling right now if her lips weren't wrapped around the detective's clit. Being able to draw those sounds out of her stubborn girlfriend was more than satisfactory for her. It was something she would brag about later on. But for now...

"Taeko I'm..." Kyoko moaned out tightening her grip on Celeste's hair as she finally reached her peak. Hearing real name being called out in ecstasy only excited her more to the point where her licks became more eager. Kyoko struggled to form coherent sentences as she was pushed further and further to her peak. With one loud shout, Kyoko's arousal began spilling over in a seemingly never-ending flow of pleasure.

Celeste continued to lap at her folds until she couldn't take anymore. "No...I can't...It's still sensitive." Kyoko whimpered nudging Celeste's head away from her. Celeste placed a few soft kisses on to her thighs before taking her place next to Kyoko on the bed. She could still feel Kyoko's body quivering as she kissed along her jawline to help her calm down from her orgasm. 

"So, I take it you enjoyed yourself?" 

Kyoko didn't respond causing Celeste to stare at her in concern. Celeste could tell Kyoko was out of it by the way she stared at the ceiling with glossy eyes. She only wanted to show her a good time, but perhaps she had done too much of a good job with that.

"Kyoko-mph." 

She was pulled into a forceful kiss by the detective, which took her by surprise. She wasn't used to Kyoko being so forceful with her, but she didn't complain. It gave her a rush and she responded by deepening their kiss making sure that Kyoko would be able to taste herself. By the way, the other girl moaned into her mouth, she had accomplished her goal.

They finally separated after a few minutes. "Saying I enjoyed myself would be an understatement," Kyoko said breathlessly. "It really took a lot out of me. I hope I'm still able to return the favor."

"No need to worry about me, my love. Tonight is supposed to be all about you. If you are too tired, we can worry about me later on." 

Kyoko nodded and gave her an apologetic kiss. "I still enjoyed myself. Thank you for everything Taeko." She spoke breaking the silence between them. Celeste didn't say anything. She wondered if Celeste was bothered by her using her real name a few moments ago. Sometimes she would tease her about her name, but this time it wasn't on purpose. Her mind was clouded with ecstasy and it just kinda rolled off her tongue in the heat of the moment. 

"I see you've taken it upon yourself to start calling me by that name." She opened her eyes slightly staring at Kyoko with half-lidded eyes. Kyoko never mentioned this to her, but she thought Celeste had the most gorgeous bedroom eyes. They were hypnotizing. "You're the only one that can get away with that." Kyoko nodded and gave Celeste one last peck on the lips before burying her face in her neck.

"Goodnight Celeste." 

"Goodnight my love. Sweetdreams"

...

Her eyes shot open, but she didn't know why. The room was dead silent. It was weird...it was almost like something inside of her woke her up...but why? She slowly sat up in the bed careful not to wake her sleeping girlfriend. She glanced down at her and sure enough...Celeste was still laying there sleeping peacefully. She couldn't help but place soft kiss onto her cheek before carefully climbing out of the bed. 

The sight of her lover sleeping peacefully next to her was enough to calm her nerves a little bit, but still...her detective senses were tingling. she figured she was just thirsty. So, she would just fix herself a glass of water and go back to sleep. She wrapped herself in a robe and tied her hair into a ponytail before making her way into the kitchen for a glass of water. 

After downing a glass of water, she, unfortunately, was still feeling weird about something...Her detective senses were still tingling. She let out a sigh and made her way over to the file cabinet, where she kept all of her case files. The cabinet was filled with new and old cases and even some cases that had been previously thrown out. There was no real reason for this other than the fact she hadn't gotten around to rearranging things yet. She would have to eventually, but for now, she had more pressing matters to attend to. 

She grabbed the manila folder and sat down at the kitchen table looking over its contents. The restless detective tried her best to clear her mind as she looked carefully through the files. This particular case had been bothering her for quite some time. This wasn't uncommon for her though. Many times before, she'd find herself up in the middle of the night trying to crack the code. Most people would find it worrisome, but Kyoko just brushed as being the typical detective lifestyle. Did other detectives do this? Who knows.

She glances at the clock to see that it was a few minutes past three. Kyoko had already pretty much solved this case anyways. But there was still one question that needed to be answered. Did Celeste know about this? She just wasn't sure how to bring it to her. Blatantly asking her would be too straight forward when she could easily just lie and say she didn't, but Celeste never lied to her despite being a notorious liar.

Speaking of Celeste...She figured she should probably get back to the bed before the gambler woke up to look for her. Besides, it was starting to grow unusually cold and her body was craving the warmth that came from her bed and her lover's embrace. She quickly and sloppily placed the folder back into its rightful place. Again, she really needed to organize these files, but that day would eventually come at a later day. She was still sleepy and needed to get back to Celeste. 

When she got back to her bedroom, she was relieved to see that Celeste was still sleeping peacefully. Smiling, she hung her robe on the door and climbed back under the covers next to Celeste. Returning to the warm bed and feeling Celeste's bare skin against her own was comforting for her. She felt like she would almost instantly fall asleep, but something still kept her awake. 

Her eyes landed on Celeste's phone. Should she really? No...she couldn't. That would be an invasion of Celeste's privacy. She respected Celeste. Cared deeply for her and may have possibly even loved her. But her job came first. She reluctantly grabbed a hold of Celeste's phone. Being straightforward and asking Celeste about this head-on was out of the question. As wrong as it was, it was necessary for her to finally close this case. 

She scrolled through countless call logs and text messages looking for interactions with her bodyguard. A few of them came from Hifumi, which was weird, but she didn't want to think too much about it. Some of them from obviously illegal 'business partners.' Kyoko rolled her eyes at that. She would have chat with Celeste about it later on. But most of them were between her and Celeste, which was obvious given their relationship. This only made her feel worse about what she was doing.

Finally, she found some texts between Celeste and her bodyguard. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just simple back and forth conversations about meet up times and locations. Their meetup days and times did seem to match what she knew from the case. While that was reassuring in its own way, it didn't mean that Celeste was completely out of the woods yet. Eventually, she would have to be honest and question her about her involvement in the murders. She made a mental note and began to close out of the messages. But just before she could do all of that...

"K-Kyoko?"


	12. Never Again

Kyoko nearly dropped the phone when she heard the gambler call her name. It was at that moment she knew she messed up. She silently cursed herself for being so careless as it now meant she would have to prematurely interrogate her girlfriend about her connection to the murders. Not only that, but it could potentially lead to another fallout between the two of them. But she had no choice...the truth had to be uncovered at some point. 

The air in the room had become thick and she felt like the walls were closing in on her. It was becoming harder for her to focus on the woman staring at her as her mind began to blackout. She couldn't even muster up a proper response to the inevitable questions that were about to be thrown her way. What was she supposed to say? What was she supposed to do? 

"What's...going on...?" Her accent had disappeared. She was still half asleep and clearly confused by the situation. Kyoko felt bad and didn't know what to do...Having to explain what she was doing was going to be rough. _"Nice going Kyoko."_

Kyoko had been caught red-handed. She was a detective, so this situation wasn't really new to her. She had been caught by a suspect while in the process of collecting evidence plenty of times before, but she was always able to lie her way out of it most of the time. The only difference is Celeste isn't a suspect...She's her girlfriend. Lying to your girlfriend is wrong and even if she was to do that, it wouldn't be that easy. Celeste wasn't just a reckless criminal. She was the queen of liars...a master manipulator. She would be able to easily pick apart whatever lie Kyoko told her. 

The awkward moment was briefly halted when Celeste sat up in the bed. At that point, Kyoko had dropped the phone on the bed between them. Celeste picked up her phone to see what Kyoko was searching through and her expression almost immediately went sour when she saw the messages open. "...Perhaps you would like to explain what you were doing?" Her tone came out as calm, but Kyoko could tell she was holding back her anger. 

Kyoko's eyes shifted away from the gambler's gaze. She couldn't bring herself to look at her. "I...Look, I'm sorry Celeste." She looked back at Celeste to see that she had still not taken her eyes off her and that she was seemingly unimpressed with her apology. It wasn't like she could blame her. Celeste had every reason to be upset at her right now. Even if her reasons for invading her privacy were somewhat justified. 

"I wasn't trying to intentionally invade your privacy...It's just...this case-"

"Of course it has something to do with that fucking case." Celeste interrupted her climbing out of the bed and angrily putting a robe on. And there it was...The anger that Kyoko had been waiting for to show up. "The entire time we've been together, you've been blowing me off and ignoring me over that goddamn case!" She wasn't quite yelling at her, but her voice got louder with every word she spoke. At least that's what it felt like to Kyoko. 

"At least let me finish with what I have to say." She said sternly. She wasn't even surprised by Celeste's reaction. It was already known how much of a short temper she had and how much of a drama queen the gambler could be at times. Although, at the moment she had reason to be this way. 

Celeste took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. Kyoko assumed that that was her trying to control her temper. She relaxed her shoulders and shut her eyes until she was completely composed. "Talk." She said calmly as she finally opened her eyes to stare at the detective. Although she was calm there were still some traces of aggression in her voice. 

Kyoko raised a brow at this. Celeste could be really rude and nasty whenever she lost her temper. On a normal day, Kyoko would not accept being talked to in that manner, especially not from someone she considered her lover. However, she was at fault here, so she had no reason to lecture her about tone and attitude at the moment. It would only upset her even more. So, she figured she'd save that for another day. Right now, Celeste was obviously hurting and she needed to fix this. 

She let out a deep sigh. "I have some troubling news for you." Celeste didn't react at all. She just stood there staring...ruby red eyes burning right through. Kyoko continued on ignoring the gambler's intense stare."Your bodyguard just so happens to be the serial murderer we've looking for this whole time."

For the first time tonight, Celeste's expression morphed into what seemed like confusion. The reaction was genuine, which meant that Celeste probably didn't have anything to do with it. She would still need to question her and get a statement from her though. That was one silver lining in this whole situation, but Celeste was still upset with her, so in the end, it almost meant nothing. 

"And you didn't tell me because...?" 

Kyoko froze in place letting her eyes shift away from the gambler. She didn't have an answer for this. No...Actually, she did. It just wasn't one that she would want to tell the already enraged gambler. No one could blame her. Blatantly telling your girlfriend that you suspected her of murder was strange in more ways than one.

"I..." Kyoko hesitated still refusing to look the gambler. "Look, I didn't know."

"Didn't know what?" Celeste spat. Whatever was left of her composure was slowly slipping away and at that moment her anger began to show. 

"I didn't know if you were...involved or not..." Kyoko already knew how Celeste was when she lost control and fully expected her to yell and berate her. Celeste had never acted that way towards Kyoko, but that was because she had never given her reason to. But despite her expectations, the yelling and insults never started. Instead, she let out a small chuckle, much to the detective's surprise. 

Her giggling just became more prominent with each passing second leaving the detective in a state of confusion. "Um...Celeste?"

Kyoko wasn't sure what to say at this point. The girl had gone into a complete fit of laughter making Kyoko even more nervous. Kyoko wasn't afraid of Celeste. Not even a little bit. She knew more than enough self-defense maneuvers to protect herself, but the uncertainty of the situation made her feel uneasy. This was a reaction she never witnessed before. 

She wasn't sure if she should try to calm her down or just leave the room and come back when the other woman decided to calm down on her own. It wasn't like she could just leave the house all together since they were at Kyoko's residence. That would just be weird and awkward. So, she tried once again to get her attention. "Celeste." She spoke sternly. 

"Let me get this straight." The gambler's laughter finally subsided. "Rather than be concerned about my well being and safety, you were more concerned with me being an accomplice to some murderous fiend." She was no longer laughing, which meant that she was serious. Her fists were clenched so tightly that it was a surprise that she hadn't drawn blood.

"So all of this was fake? You loving me and us spending all this time together was just a lie?" She continued trying to hold back tears. Kyoko didn't have a response for this, which seemed to agitate Celeste even further. She showed some signs of rage, but in the end, she remained "calm." It wasn't that she didn't know what to say, it was that she was overwhelmed with Celeste's anger and her own emotions. Kyoko was always used to being the one ask questions and interrogate people, but she didn't know how to react when she was on the receiving end of it. 

"I guess you really do see me as just some criminal." She sighed. "Let me get dressed. I believe it's time for me to leave." She began searching for her clothes as Kyoko remained frozen in one spot. The sensible thing to do would be to apologize, but Kyoko just wasn't sure how to bring it up. Celeste was being a little erratic and she wasn't sure if she would even listen to her at this point.

Celeste had locked herself in Kyoko's bathroom to finish dressing. All Kyoko could do was sit at the edge of the bed and nervously twiddle her thumbs as she thought about everything that had just happened. She didn't know what to do. Celeste had never acted like this with her before. Kyoko was usually quick on her feet when it came to being in sticky situations. It was what made her one of the best detectives in the world. But now she found herself being lost and confused about how to deal with Celeste.

The door swung open to reveal Celeste standing there fully clothed. She seemed to not even acknowledge the detective. That was probably the least surprising thing Celeste had done all night. Kyoko didn't have much time to stop and stare at her. She needed to fix this or she would up permanently damaging their relationship.

"Celeste wait."

Celeste paused just as she was about to leave the room. Kyoko didn't know why her heart was beating so fast when all she had to do was apologize. It also didn't help that the gambler hadn't even bothered to turn around to face her. Kyoko didn't complain about it. Celeste had at least stopped to listen to what she had to say. She figured that was the best she was going to get.

"I'm really sorry Celeste...You don't have to leave." 

After a few seconds, Celeste turned around to face her. Her expression was blank, but Kyoko could see the hurt in her eyes. Her piercing red eyes displayed nothing but hurt and anguish. It was really hard to see her like this. As many times as Kyoko had rejected her in the past, she never seemed as hurt as she is now. The last thing she had wanted to do was hurt her. 

"Tch. You're not sorry. You disregarded my safety and used me to solve your stupid case. It's obvious that you love your job more than what you love me." She spat. "You couldn't even be bothered to protect me from a serial killer when you already knew that he was one."

That last part cut Kyoko deep. Mostly because it was the truth. It was poor judgment on her part. She had realized that now, but unfortunately it was too late.

"Honestly, this is all my fault. I was foolish to believe you'd ever love me the way I love you." Her voice was shaky. Kyoko could tell she was holding back tears. She wanted to hug her and tell her how sorry she was, but she knew the gambler would not respond well to that right now. Celeste was an emotional mess. Getting through to her right now would be next to impossible. 

"Goodnight Kyoko." She said finally turning away to leave. Kyoko wanted to stop her. She wanted to tell her how much she loved and appreciated her. But instead, she just sat there glued to the bed not knowing what to do. She felt useless...

If she wanted to do anything, it was already too late as she heard her front door open and slam shut. Celeste was gone. Kyoko wasn't sure if she would ever speak to her again. Well...she had to at some point to get more information about her bodyguard. But still...It was all her fault. The one moment she needed to be brave and speak up, she couldn't. All she did was sit there like a fool as her heartbroken girlfriend stormed out of her house. 

Failure was what she felt. Not only had she failed as a detective, but as a friend and a lover as well. Now that she had time to think about it, it was stupid of her to suspect Celeste. Most people may not have felt this way, but she didn't think Celeste was a criminal. She knew the woman well enough to know what kind of person she was under the fake alias she shrouded herself in. Yet, she couldn't come to that conclusion before suspecting her own girlfriend of murder.

It was too late for that now. Celeste was gone and probably wanted nothing to do with her after that. She couldn't blame her if that was the case. Kyoko was tired, but she didn't know if she would be able to sleep after what just happened. It had been an unexpectantly emotional morning. Most people wouldn't be able to after that. Despite all that, she still attempted to force herself to sleep with the hope of her thoughts being cleared once she woke up. 

...

The moment the door slammed shut, she let her tears fall. She vowed to never show weakness in front of anybody. Not even in front of Kyoko. This wasn't how things were supposed to go between her and the detective. The moment the woman confessed to her, she felt her heart light up with excitement, but she couldn't ignore the blatant feeling of doubt residing within her. And now she wishes she would have just trusted her gut.

This was one of the main reasons Celeste avoided relationships. People were always guaranteed to let her down and she would always end being the one that hurt the most. She just never thought Kyoko would hurt her in this way. Just thinking about the detective hurt her. Kyoko's confession. All the time they spent together...It meant nothing. It was nothing more than a waste of time for both of them.

And yet...she had no one to blame but herself. Kyoko had made it obvious in the past that she wanted nothing more than a mere friendship with her, but she stayed persistent and eventually got what she wanted. But was it all worth it? Of course, it wasn't. Here she was sitting in her car in front of Kyoko's house contemplating whether she should leave or go back inside and apologize for making a scene. 

No...that's pathetic. Why would she apologize when Kyoko had barely done so herself? All she gave her was some half-assed apology with no emotion or remorse behind it. The woman hadn't even made an attempt to stop her from leaving. 

_"She never liked me anyway. She's probably happy to know that I won't ever be bothering her again."_

Cele-No...Taeko thought to herself. Celeste wouldn't be sitting in a car sobbing over a failed relationship. Taeko was the type to fall in love and allow herself to get hurt and still want them back even after they hurt her. Celeste would demote Kyoko to an E-Rank or even quite possibly an F-Rank. unfortunately, she is Taeko at the moment, but that wouldn't last very long...

Being left alone with her negative thoughts was probably the least productive thing for her. It didn't help that she had no friends to talk to about this. Of course, she had Hifumi, but was he mentally competent enough to process what she was going through? Probably not. Moments like these are when she regrets pushing everyone away all those years ago.

Her hands tightened around the steering wheel as she looked back up at Kyoko's house. "Fuck." She muttered to herself before turning the key in the ignition. She didn't even bother checking her mirrors or putting on a seat belt. With the way she was feeling right now, she didn't care about putting her safety at risk.

She finally set out for home driving recklessly as she ignored every light, traffic sign, and the occasional beep from other drivers. It didn't help that her vision was slightly blurry from the tears that filled her eyes. Luckily, there weren't many cars out in the early morning hours so, the risk was somewhat small. She didn't care...she just wanted to get home and forget about everything that had happened that night. Even the good parts of it. She just wanted to forget about Kyoko...

After she had finally made it home, she fell face-first on to her bed, not even bothering to remove any of her clothes or extensions. Crying all the way home really left her in an exhausted state. As sad as it was, she was grateful that she exhausted herself as sleep would soon overtake her and she would no longer be left alone with her thoughts. At least for the time being.

"Never again." muttered before falling into a much-needed slumber. 


	13. This is Perfectly Fine

No one said it was supposed to be easy...

Going to sleep with a broken heart wasn't easy for anybody. Not even someone like Celeste, but she had been doing just that for the past couple of nights. When they weren't falling asleep in each other's beds, they would talk or text until one of them fell asleep. Sometimes Celeste would talk to Kyoko while she stayed late for work, but now...she didn't have any of that.

Celeste spent a good portion of her life gambling, which meant that she could easily read others like an open book. She knew when someone was lying. She knew when someone had alternative motives...Even someone as sharp and mysterious as Kyoko was like an open book to her. However, that didn't stop her from being an idiot and ignoring the red flags in her relationship with Kyoko. She curses herself for being so foolish. She should have known that better than anyone...

"You are so stupid." She murmured staring at herself in the mirror. Celeste had not even bothered to dress up in here usual atheistic today. No makeup, no extensions, no high-heels...no nothing. All she wore was an over-sized hoodie. That's how she felt today. She had no real reason to dress up. She felt so silly for believing that someone like Kyoko would actually be interested in her.

It made her feel like a complete failure. She had gone through all the trouble to make herself look presentable to others just to come up short when she needed to the most. She had also put a lot of effort into trying to make keep the detective happy and keep her feeling good, but in the end, it all just went to waste. 

It's been a long time since she's felt this useless. In fact, she hasn't felt this way since before she was scouted to attend Hope's Peak. She felt herself getting angry all over again. How dare she?? Who was this woman to make her feel such despair?? Her fists clenched tightly. She felt like she was going to punch something. No...that wouldn't solve anything. Besides...it was her fault for not seeing the truth much earlier. 

Deep down she already knew how things would turn out between her and the detective. Yet...she ignored all the red flags that were given to her. Celeste was not the kind of woman to be naive. She spent a good portion of her life lying and manipulating others and could tell when something just didn't have her best interest in mind. So, this was just done out of pure denial. 

She left Kyoko's house a few nights ago feeling angry at her for what happened. But now she found herself at the stage where she blamed herself for everything. Yes, she was very upset with Kyoko, but still, in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but feel some sort of guilt. Since that night the two of them had only spoken once when Kyoko called to ask how she was doing and to get statements about her bodyguard.

Celestia gave her simple answers with no emotion or anything attached. She would rather not have spoken to Kyoko, but she had no choice. She would either have to cooperate with Kyoko or talk to the police. The police hated her and would surely give her a hard time. She didn't need that right now, so, she just opted to speak with her ex-girlfriend instead. 

However, any other attempts to communicate past that point were unsuccessful. Celeste felt bad about brushing her off and ignoring her, but a part of her felt regret about not doing it sooner. She thought back to their first date and how if she would have just ignored her then, she wouldn't be feeling so terrible right now. That night Kyoko had already shown her what her true intentions were, but Celeste let her feelings get the best of her and she ended up ignoring all the red flags presented to her. That would never happen again...

A knock on her bedroom door brought her to her senses. She took a deep breath trying her hardest to calm down. "Yes?" She said masking her mood with her fake accent. 

"I have finished preparing your miss Ludenberg." 

She wanted to be annoyed and roll her eyes at that. Not because of something Hifumi said, but because she didn't deserve to be called by that name right now. She wasn't Celestia Ludenberg...She was Taeko Yasuhiro. Celestia wouldn't be sulking over some silly little high school crush.

"I'll be down in a minute."

She sat there paused for a moment wondering if she should take some extra time to put on some proper clothing. It wasn't often she would allow herself to be seen without her usual dress. But right now she didn't feel quite like herself. There was also the fact that dressing herself was so time-consuming and honestly she didn't have the energy to do all of that at the moment. Plus her tea would probably be cold by the time she finished getting ready.

"Fuck it." She bypassed her normal routine and went downstairs to the kitchen. 

"Ah...Miss Ludenberg I didn't hear you come down. I have your te-eeek!" His screeching caused the gambler to slightly jump back as the teacup shattered against the floor. He had ruined her tea and made a mess on the floor. She could feel her anger flare up but quickly regained her composure before she said anything too vulgar. She didn't really have the energy to get mad at him right now. 

Celeste cleared her throat and clasped her fingers together under her chin as she smiled sweetly at her former classmate trembling with fear. "Hifumi dear...why did you scream at me and throw my tea on the ground?" She asked trying to hide her annoyance. 

He seemed hesitant to respond, which only annoyed Celeste further. He was acting like a child that had just got caught in the act of doing something they weren't supposed to do. Her face slightly twitched causing her faux smile to falter a bit as she waited for a response. He still said nothing only agitating her even further.

"Spit it out!" She shouted finally losing her patience with him. This caused him to shriek again and jump back in fear.

"Okay, Okay. It's just..." He hesitated. "Y-You're not dressed in your usual attire. I didn't know I was allowed to see you like this."

Celeste rolled her eyes and for a brief moment regretted choosing not to dress up. If she had known it was going to cause such a hassle, she would have just taken the extra time to dress up and have Hifumi reheat her tea. "If I did not want you to see me like this, then I would not have come downstairs dressed like this in the first place." She calmly explained. 

"I know b-but-"

"Just get me my damn tea...And clean up that mess while you're at it." And with that, she stormed out of the kitchen leaving Hifumi to his duties. Normally, she would not be so rude to him, but right now she was in an incredibly bad mood. Everything that had happened between her and Kyoko was pushing her to her limit. It was probably unhealthy for her to be still thinking about the detective, but she couldn't help it.

She had been crushing on Kyoko since they were teenagers. Now they were in their twenties and she still hadn't gotten over her crush. At times she wondered if she would ever get over her. Even now after Kyoko had hurt her, she still harvested some feelings for her. She knew she was foolish for still having these feelings, but it wasn't like she had much control over them. 

The whole thing frustrated her to no end. It wasn't fair...Kyoko was the only person she's ever had feelings for and it turned out like this. She always knew. She always knew her feelings would destroy her one day, which is why she would always avoid love every chance she got. There had been plenty of other people who probably wanted to shower her in a limitless amount of affection. But all she would want was _her_. Thinking back, she kinda regretted not giving some of those people a chance...

She thought about Hifumi and how well he would treat her despite her rudeness towards him, but there was nothing there between the two of them. Outside of being nice to her and useful every now and then, he wasn't exactly her ideal partner. Even so much as establishing a normal friendship with him was hard for her. She couldn't tell if this was more her fault or his. He was weird and awkward to talk to, but on the other hand, she was standoffish and unwilling to give many people a chance. So, it was just as much as her fault as it was his. 

"I have your tea miss Ludenberg!"

Hifumi finally brought out her tea in which silently accepted. If there was one thing she had to look forward to at this point, it was the divine flavor of her favorite milk tea. It was always good for soothing her nerves whenever things got to be too much for her. She took a small sip from the cup to make sure that it was prepared properly. Even after all these years, he would still screw up her tea on occasion. 

After she had taste-tested the beverage, she silently dismissed him so that she could be alone once again. A small part of her wanted to ask him to stay just to keep her company, but she decided against it. It would probably be best for her to wait a while before she talked openly about her relationship with Kyoko. Things were still fresh in her mind. She plopped down on her couch and began absent-mindedly flipping through channels. 

However, her moment of alone time didn't last long as her butler suddenly appeared in the room holding what looked to be a fancy envelope. It piqued her interest a little, but other than that she barely cared to acknowledged the man at the moment. 

"Is there something troubling you ms. Ludenberg?" He approached her handing her the fancy envelope. 

"Is it really that obvious?" 

He shook his head. "You have been moping around the house quite a bit these past few days. As your servant, it is only right that I will be concerned about your safety and well-being."

"I see..." A small blush made its way onto her cheeks. "Let's just say Things haven't been going my way lately, but it's nothing you need to worry yourself with." Celeste couldn't help but feel embarrassed by this. She had always gone through so much effort to keep up her usual image in front of others. She often portrayed her as a heartless queen with little to no regard for anyone else. Of course, this wasn't true.

"Very well. If you need anything please don't hesitate to ask."

He left the room shortly leaving her alone again. She let out a huff and sunk into the couch. She was really struggling to keep herself together and she hated every bit of it. Even her damn butler knew something was off with her. 

She picked up the envelope carefully examining it to see where it came from before opening it. Unfortunately, there was no name or address attached to it, so there was no way of knowing where this came from. But what she did notice was that the envelope kinda smelled like chocolate. It wasn't a bad smell and she didn't hate it, but it was weird that someone would send this to her. For a second she thought it was just a last-ditch effort by her ex to communicate with her, but Kyoko wasn't the kind of person to do something as romantic as this. 

Knowing this just made her a little more anxious about it. At this point, she was starting to feel like she was being targeted as some kind of crime. Most people would laugh at her and say she was just being paranoid, but in her mind, she had a right to be paranoid. After all, she was a well-known gambler who had cleaned out the pockets of many people, which made her a target for all sorts of attacks. So, she could never be too careful when it came to her safety.

She considered just tossing it out, but her curiosity got the best of her. Maybe it actually was Kyoko and she had just decided to get creative all of a sudden. She held her breath and carefully used her long black nail to remove the seal on the envelope. When she opened it, all she could see inside was a lone piece of paper in which assumed to be some kind of letter or some sort. Luckily for her, it didn't appear to be anything too strange or malevolent, but she still wasn't thrilled upon receiving it considering the source...Junko Enoshima. 

It was strange receiving mail from her former classmate, whom she'd hadn't spoken too in years. They didn't speak much during their years at Hope's Peak, but Celeste was always well aware of Junko and her shenanigans and would just usually ignore and avoid her whenever she could. So, she still proceeded to open the letter with caution.

Once she opened the letter, she began carefully reading over the letter. It turns out it was just an invitation to a girls' night out event for their class. Apparently, Junko felt that they needed to keep in touch and bond more. Celeste scoffed at the idea of this. 

That didn't sound very convincing considering who sent the invitation meaning there was probably some other motive involved. Besides, Celeste didn't really care or have a reason to show up to this event in the first place. She only cared about being close to one person from her class, but that certain someone had recently broken her heart, so she didn't really care about this little gathering. 

She placed the letter back into the envelope and tossed it on the table. She had far more important things to do. She thought back to what her butler said about her moping around the house and came to the conclusion that she needed to stop that. No amount of sulking was going to change how things had turned out. It was time for her to move on with her life and get back to what she knew best. 


	14. Back To The Old Me

It's been a difficult past few days for Celeste. She had fallen out with her long term crush and the situation had almost completely destroyed her spirit. But she decided that she wouldn't let that happen. She was hurt by the whole experience, but above all else, she was still a woman of high prestige. Many people adored her and would love nothing more than the privilege to be under her control. 

She didn't even have to ask for her chair to be pulled out for her or her wine to be poured. Those were things that someone like her demanded from the moment she entered the room. Celeste was one of the best gamblers in the countries and everyone admired her. Whether it be for her skill or just simply her striking beauty. For every one person that hated her, there were hundreds of people that loved her. 

That's what Celeste was. A woman that loved to have control. And when a situation is no longer under her control; she wants nothing to do with it, which is why she decided to be done with Kyoko. No more chasing after her. No more thinking about her. No more late nights crying over what could have been. So much of her time was wasted trying plan things for the detective just to not be reciprocated in end. But that's over.

After experiencing heartbreak, Celeste wanted to feel like herself again. So, tonight she decided to go out and do what she does best...Gambling. Yeah, she promised to give this life up for Kyoko and it wasn't like she needed the money. At this point she had acquired enough wealth to last her a lifetime, so she could make that promise. But considering they weren't a thing anymore, there was no harm in partaking in a little guilty pleasure. 

Celeste had taken the time out to dress up extra nice to go play poker. Usually, she would just wear her normal gothic lolita attire when she went to the casino, but she decided she wanted things to be a little more special this time around. Besides, it has been a while since she's felt pretty enough to leave her house.

Her companion frantically rushed past her to hold the door open for her. She didn't bother thanking them as she daintily walked inside of the building. Of course, everyone stopped to stare at her as she walked along to her table. The men especially were staring.

She knew this, which is why she decided to tease them a bit by letting her hips sway as she walked. Every now and then, she would entertain them by winking at them, sending flirtatious smiles their way and even on occasion blowing subtle kisses at them when she noticed them staring for too long. These losers had absolutely no chance with her, but she would be lying if she said she didn't like the extra attention. 

It was the exact attention she was currently receiving from her opponent. He had been eyeing her up all night, so she decided to use this for fun. Surprisingly enough, he didn't want any of her money, but instead, he opted to play her for a chance to take her out. She hadn't batted an eye to this because she knew she was going to win regardless, but it was surely something caught her interest. None of her opponents had ever made an offer like this. 

She let out a relaxing sigh as she sat at the poker table swirling the red wine around in her glass. It wasn't her favorite kind of wine, but it worked well enough for when she needed it to lift her mood. She took a small sip from the glass and placed it next to her as she carefully observed her surroundings. All eyes were still on her but she wasn't the least bit nervous. If anything, they should be nervous about her. She was the best gambler in the building.

The match was going well for her per usual, but there was something wrong. It seemed like the crowd that had gathered to watch the match was only barely paying attention to her. 

When Celeste's eyes shifted over to the table next to her to see what the fuss was about and was met with an unpleasant sight...Her face twisted up into a slight scowl when she looked over to see Hifumi cramming large amounts of food into his mouth all at once. _"How annoying."_ She thought to herself.

She decided to invite him along with her to poker night, much to his surprise. She no longer had her bodyguard to escort her around, so he would have to suffice for now until she can hire someone else again. He wasn't the most reliant, but he was still better than no one. Besides, he had done a lot for her so it was only right that she allow him to accompany her this time. Even though he was a little embarrassing and lacked manners.

"Animal." She mumbled scowling to herself. As much as she wanted to scold him about embarrassing her with his bad table manners, she knew she couldn't as she needed to focus on the game in front of her.

She sighed in content as she collected her winnings for the night. Another successful night. She got some dirty looks from some of the other patrons. Especially the man she had just beat, but it was nothing new for her. So, she paid them no mind. Celeste lived by the idea that winning cures all. Yeah, her long term crush had shattered her heart into a million pieces, but she was at least able to win big at another poker night. That's all that mattered for now...

...

A lot had also transpired for Kyoko in these past few days. She and Celeste had gotten into a huge argument because she somewhat suspected the gambler of being an accomplice to her serial killer bodyguard. She knew it was something that needed to be done for the sake of justice, but she also understood why Celeste got so upset with her. 

However, now that the situation had been settled, she was filled with nothing but regret. She regretted accusing her girlfriend of being an accomplice to a murder. And she kinda regretted even starting a relationship with her in the first place. That had more to do with herself rather than Celeste. She knew deep down that she wasn't ready for a relationship, but went through with one anyway.

Not only had she put herself at a disadvantage, but she also ended doing what she wanted to avoid the most. And that was hurting Celeste. 

To make matters worse, all of this happened when she was finally starting to come to terms with the feelings she had for the gambler. Even though she wasn't ready for a relationship...One of her biggest doubts about dating was that it would get in the way of her career. And to be honest...it did. She found that her mind is occupied with thoughts about Celeste even when they weren't on good terms. 

Celeste had never officially broken up with her. All Kyoko remembers is her being really upset in which she eventually stormed out of her house. That was the last time she had seen Celeste in person. They spoke through text, but that was days ago. Celeste kept her responses short and ignored the rest her of messages. It wasn't hard for her to put two and two together. They were broken up. Simple as that.

It hurt to be ignored by someone she badly wanted to talk to, but she knew she deserved it. Celeste had done everything to keep her happy and all she gave her in return was a broken heart.

Kyoko was truly sorry for the way she acted towards Celeste and badly wanted to make it up to her. But that was nearly impossible due to their current situation. As much as it hurt, Kyoko wouldn't go out of her way to pester her. She figured Celeste just needed time to calm down and would eventually come around to speaking to her again. Even if their relationship never fully recovered, she wanted her Celeste to know that she was sorry and that she genuinely cared for her. 

She let out a sigh and shook her head. She knew she shouldn't be thinking about this at work right now. The case was already solved, but there was still some work to do. The suspect had already been taken into custody. She just needed to finish compiling her evidence for the trial. This case had caused enough problems in her life. The last thing she needed was to fall behind in her work. 

"You sure are taking your sweet time with that case Detective."

She sighed in annoyance and slowly lifted her head to look at him. _Great._ She really wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone today. There was already enough going on in her life. She didn't need to be harassed by petty subordinates. She had fight the urge to reprimand him for entering her office unannounced, but she ultimately decided it wouldn't be necessary. 

"What do you want?" She asked sternly glaring at him. He smirked and took a seat on her desk...Much to her disdain. She really didn't like being interrupted like this. 

"Why so hostile? I'm only here to chat." 

"About?" Kyoko had to resist the strong urge to roll her eyes. As much as this situation annoyed her, she didn't want to come off as too rude. She was a professional above all else and had to behave as such. Besides, he hadn't actually said or done anything bad. So, there was no reason for the rudeness.

"Well...I wanted to know if you'd be interested in going to dinner later on?"

Kyoko's eyes widened when she realized what was happening. This wasn't her first time being hit on, but the abruptness of it was enough to catch her off guard. His timing couldn't be any more awkward. She wouldn't be interested either way. He was far from her type. She didn't think he was a bad person, but he was annoying and Kyoko didn't like to put up with that kind of behavior. 

"Well?" He asked arching an eyebrow.

She took let out a deep sigh trying to calm herself down before properly responding to him. "While I appreciate your offer, I'm afraid I must decline." She stated as politely as she could. 

He let out a small chuckle. "Is it Naegi?" 

Kyoko silently shook her head. It was common for people to interpret her and Makoto's relationship as more than what it was. It didn't bother her much though. She knew where they stood and knew that their relationship was nothing more than a friendly business one.

"Or is it your little delinquent girlfriend?"

She froze in her seat tightly clenching her fist. Something about him mentioning Celeste triggered her. Not only because they had just broken up, but also because he had spoken ill of her. They weren't on the best terms, but that didn't mean she would let someone talk bad about her. Celeste was a tad bit problematic, but Kyoko didn't think she deserved to be labeled as a criminal. 

"I think it's time for you to go." 

As if she needed more of a reason to reprimand him. Hitting on her and asking her about her personal relationships outside of work. This was borderline harassment and was no way for a subordinate to talk to their superior. For a moment she began to wonder if she had been spending too much time around Makoto and his kind-hearted tolerant nature was starting to rub off on her. Normally, she would have threatened his job by now. 

"Aw come on you know I was just-" He didn't even bother finishing his sentence as Kyoko shot him an intense death glare to show that she wasn't in the mood for his antics. "Right." He nodded and awkwardly got up from her desk. She put her head down and continued to silently look over her work. There wasn't anything more that needed to be said after that. So, he just quickly and quietly left her alone.

"How annoying." She sighed. This didn't help her mood at all. How did he even know about her and Celeste's relationship? During their time together, they made sure to keep their relationship as private as possible due to their conflicting lifestyles. 

This was just great...As if she wasn't already going through enough right now. Her relationship with Celeste would eventually be the topic of workplace gossip. Kyoko wasn't the kind of person to care about what others think, but she was a private person and hated when people pried into her personal affairs. She was certain her coworkers would question her about the matter later on. 

On the other hand, It probably wasn't a good look for a world-class detective to date someone like Celeste. They both knew that which is why they agreed to keep their relationship private for the time being. Eventually, they would have to come clean if they wanted to take their relationship to the next level. That would come whenever Celeste decided to slow down with the gambling. 

Kyoko checked her watch. It was only 9:30 PM. Usually, she would stay longer, but she wasn't really feeling well at the moment. It wasn't very often she would leave early, but she figured it wouldn't hurt anything. She wrapped up the case and let out a sigh of relief. Well...that was one thing she had to proud of at the moment. She was finally done with that god awful case that had caused so much unnecessary stress in her life. 

After she finally made it home, she was surprised to see a small letter attached to her door. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. It was only natural for her detective instincts to kick in at the discovery of the strange letter. 

Carefully and cautiously, she peeled the letter off her door. Her expression relaxed when she saw that it was a note from Asahina inviting her to a girls' night out for their class. It wasn't surprising. Her and Aoi had been somewhat close during their years at Hope's Peak. So, it made sense for her to invite her along with them.

Normally, she wasn't interested in these kinds of activities, but she figured it might be healthy for her to get out and do some catching up with her former classmates. Maybe that would help her take her mind off things for a while.

_"Hmm..."_


	15. It's Either Now or Never

Everything that had happened in the past couple of weeks left Kyoko feeling mentally and emotionally exhausted. Keeping herself emotionally grounded was always a big deal to her. Her logical mindset is what makes her who she is. However, maintaining that attitude was starting to become more difficult with each passing day. 

It had been two weeks since she and Celeste broke up. They had not spoken since then and honestly, it was starting to get her. Not knowing where she stood with Celeste or if they ever speak again turned her emotions into a cocktail. She was sad and somewhat optimistic that Celeste would call or text her at some point. But those feelings just turned into sadness when she realized that wasn't going to contact her. 

She was angry. Not at Celeste, but at herself for not appreciating her when they were still together. It was funny how she never realized how much she like the gambler until she was no longer in her life. Kyoko wasn't necessarily a crier, but this made her feel like she could cry at any moment.

However, now wasn't the time for that. Tonight was going to be all about having fun and catching up with old friends. She studied the address on the invitation carefully as she stood in front of a large house. And sure enough...She was in the right place. There was no surprise that someone like Junko lived in such a luxurious house. It kinda reminded her of Celeste. No...She shouldn't be thinking about her now. She sighed and rang the doorbell. 

After a few seconds, she heard the sound of the door being unlocked before it swung open to reveal Junko standing there with a small grin on her face. Kyoko didn't return her smile. It's not that she wasn't happy to see her...She was just bracing herself for whatever snarky passive-aggressive comment that was about the come her way.

"Oh heyyy Kyoko. I didn't expect you of all people to show up." She teased. 

Kyoko smiled slightly at that. "Really? I thought it would be nice to take a break from everything." She responded ignoring the passive-aggressive statement. It was kinda true. She definitely wasn't here to see Junko in particular, but she did feel like this little gathering would help take her mind off things. 

Junko looked somewhat disappointed that she didn't get the response she wanted from the detective. Kyoko took note of this for future references. "Well, I suppose someone as boring as you need to let loose every once in a while." 

"Are you going to invite me in or did you just invite me along so that you can insult me?" 

Junko's face contorted into a look of fake shock. "Why of course not my little detective." Kyoko frowned at being called that. Much to Junko's amusement. "Come right this way sweety." She stepped aside gesturing for Kyoko to enter. 

Kyoko nodded at her entered through the large corridor where she and Junko walked silently. She couldn't the voices of anybody and was starting to wonder if this was some kind of trap. Or perhaps she was just the first one there, which was strange considering she was a little late herself. 

"Enoshima where are-" She started to question Junko but was interrupted by Aoi pulling her into an unexpected tight hug. Junko rolls her eyes in annoyance and leaves them alone to go chat with the others. 

"Kyoko! I missed you so much!"

She slowly lifted her arms as best as she could to return the hug. "I-I've missed you as well Hina." 

After what felt like an eternity, Aoi finally let her go and the two of them entered the room where everyone else was talking and drinking one another. All of their female classmates were present. Including.....her. Kyoko felt her heart stop for a brief moment. She had not actually expected Celeste to be here tonight, which was part of the reason she showed up in the first place.

This was supposed to be a moment for her to make herself feel better about what happened, not make things worse. It had been so long since she's seen her person. In fact, she hadn't seen her since the night of their fallout. She was sure she'd be able to take her mind off things and just have fun, but that would be difficult when she and Celeste were in the same room. 

Celeste didn't even bother acknowledging her existence, which didn't help at all. She just sat there on the couch sipping from her cup, not even bothering to look in her direction. Because they had not seen each other since the night Celeste decided to storm out of her house, It was bittersweet. She was worried about her so, It was nice to finally see her after all this time, but she knew the gambler was still very much upset with her.

Aoi led her over to a table where Sayaka and Sakura sat. Upon noticing them. Sayaka Excitingly waved them over. She shook her head trying not to focus too much on the gambler. Her being here definitely made it more difficult, but she wasn't about to let that ruin her night. She greeted the other two girls before taking her seat between Aoi and Sayaka.

"It's good to see you again Kirigiri! I never expected you to show up." Sayaka spoke smiling at her.

"I agree. though I think we are all happy to see her." Sakura responded in which the other two girls agreed.

Kyoko felt herself grow slightly annoyed. Was this how everyone saw her? She knew that she was a busy woman and didn't have much time fun, but she wasn't a complete buzzkill. She had her limits, but she liked engaging in fun activities whenever she wasn't too busy with work. 

After a few more seconds of uncomfortable greetings, she began to loosen up a bit as the conversation was no longer centered around her. The other three girls began conversing about their lives and other things. It was mostly just Aoi and Sayaka chatting while Sakura listened, only chiming in when a question was directed at her. 

Kyoko herself was only half-listening to the conversation. She stared at a certain someone from across the room. Celeste was chatting with Junko and Mukuro with Toko standing nearby with a nervous look on her face. It was clear that she was uncomfortable. Maybe as uncomfortable as Kyoko was, but for an entirely different reason. She wondered if she should intervene...

To be honest, she could care less about what was going on. She always thought Toko was a strange girl and had little to no interest in her. in reality, she just needed an excuse to approach Celeste. In the end, she decided against it and continued staring. She wondered if Celeste noticed her staring. Knowing her...She probably did. She was just making a conscious effort to ignore her. 

"Kirigiri are you alright? What are you staring at?" Aoi asked her curiously. When Kyoko returned her attention to the conversation, Sayaka and Sakura were also staring at her with a look of concern on their faces. And all she could do was sit there like a deer caught in the headlights. There was no way she could tell them about everything that happened between her and Celeste. 

"...It's nothing." She said after quickly turning away from Celeste and looking down at the table. "I...I think I'm just a little bit thirsty..." 

"Oh! Would you like something to drink? I can go get us some drinks if you." Kyoko nodded. Then Aoi and Sakura left to go get drinks leaving her alone with Sayaka. Kyoko nervously twiddled her thumbs. She didn't know why she felt so awkward. Maybe it had something to do with Sayaka staring at her like she knew that something was bothering her. 

There was an awkward silence between them. The air was thick. Sayaka was a nice person so she had no reason to feel like this around her. But being around her wasn't the problem. It was the fact that the idol knew something was on her mind. Kyoko was nowhere near ready to come clean about her and Celeste's relationship. Especially considering all that's happened.

Sayaka wasn't dumb and couldn't be easily lied to. She knew that. Of course, she could just brush the entire thing off and say that she wasn't comfortable with talking about it. But what good would that do? It would just make this night even more uncomfortable for her. 

"So...I hear you and Makoto are still close." She said out of nowhere. Kyoko frowned a bit. _"Um...okay?"_ It was was a really out of place thing to say, but she didn't mind the conversation shifting away from her and to Makoto. Normally she would be off-put by something like this, at least she wouldn't have to talk about her.

"You know I don't like him like that..." She said sternly while trying to reassure her. This wasn't the first time this conversation had come up. She knew Sayaka liked Makoto as more than just a friend and would oftentimes be questioned about her closeness with him. Most of it was just her teasing her, but Kyoko could tell that a small part of her was serious. 

Suddenly, the idol scooted closer to her until their bodies were almost touching. Kyoko tried her best to hide how uncomfortable she was. It was a little uncomfortable being this close to someone, but she didn't feel that way in any imminent danger. So, she kept her position."Who is it?" She asked leaning in closely. Kyoko's eyes widened in shock at her sudden question. Was this really happening? 

"What do you mean?" Kyoko asked. Though, she had a pretty good idea of what Sayaka was asking her about. 

"Hey, guys! Sorry for keeping you waiting. We brought drinks!" Aoi and Sakura came back just in time to save her from being interrogated. Or so she thought...

"What are you guys talking about?" Aoi asked curiously as began pouring drinks for everybody. They were alcoholic beverages. Kyoko wasn't much of a drinker, but she figured she would probably need it because this was going to be a long night. 

Kyoko silently took a sip from her cup. It burned a little bit going down, but she could handle it. She wasn't much of a drinker so she wouldn't get too drunk. She would drink just enough for her to loosen up a bit. Besides, it wasn't like she got much of an opportunity to let loose on any other day. 

"Oh, nothing...just the fact that Kirigiri likes someone." She teased smirking at the detective. This caused Aoi to squeal and of course, she immediately wanted to know who it was. At this point, Kyoko felt like she had been backed into a corner. She quickly downed the rest of her drink. She was starting to drink like Celeste.

"We should not make Kirigiri talk about something she is not comfortable with," Sakura spoke up in her defense. 

"No...it's fine. I can't keep it a secret forever. Unfortunately, I and this person aren't on the best terms at the moment. So, all I ask is that you not make a scene about it." She said refilling her cup. Normally, she would keep this to herself and force a change in conversation, but she felt like she could trust them. Neither of them was the type to use this information against her. 

Aoi and Sayaka's expressions fell, but they still seemed very much interested in this mystery person Kyoko was seeing. She took a deep breath and took another sip from her cup. "Well...up until a couple of weeks ago..." She hesitated to make the other girls even more anxious."Celeste and I were in a relationship." 

The other three girls at the table let out gasps upon learning about the relationship between their former classmates. She didn't like the attention being on her, but at least they respected her wishes and didn't make a scene. She couldn't have asked for a better reaction.

"If you don't mind us asking...why aren't you guys together anymore?" Aoi asked nervously. 

"It's a long story. Let's just say I made a huge mistake. And now it's been two weeks since we last talked." The other three girls gave her sympathy looks, but she felt like she didn't deserve it. After all, it was her fault that their relationship ended. 

"But Celeste is here now. Why don't you go over there and talk to her?" 

Kyoko glanced over at where Celeste was sitting and sure enough...She was by herself. Junko and Mukuro were off chatting elsewhere while Toko alone sat at the opposite end of the couch Celeste was sitting on. Kyoko had to admit, she did look lonely sitting there by herself staring out the window at the stars. But she just wasn't sure if she should go and try to talk to her. 

"Aw come on Kyoko. She looks lonely and seems like she could use some company. And who better to cheer her up than the ultimate detective?" 

"She's right. Besides...if you don't go talk to her, I will. If you know what I mean..." Sayaka said as she smirked causing Kyoko to glare at her. Kyoko hated that she had a jealous side. She also hated that Sayaka somehow knew about it. Aoi playfully nudged Sayaka to stop teasing their friend. 

Still...Kyoko was unsure about approaching Celeste in a setting like this type of setting. The uncertainty of the situation was making her nervous. She wasn't sure how the gambler would react to her suddenly talking to her after everything that had happened. It was no secret that the girl had a temper and the last thing Kyoko wanted to do was cause a scene in front of everybody. 

But who knew when she'd get another opportunity like this? Celeste had been unresponsive to her phone calls and texts so, what better way to talk than in person? At least she'd be able to see that Kyoko was genuine with how she felt. Even if Celeste was done with her, she still wanted her to know how sorry she truly was. Whether they were together or not, it was probably best for them to talk things over. Holding on to hurt feelings for the rest of their lives would be unhealthy.

It's either now or never...


	16. Something's In The Air

Kyoko's hands had become clammy from the amount of sweat that accumulated inside her glove. It was kinda gross, but that was the least of her worries right now.

This was nothing new for her, but she still found herself being nervous as if this was the first time meeting her. She stared from afar still hesitating with her approach. It's not that she didn't want to talk to her...it was just hard for her to properly address the situation when she wasn't sure what kind of reaction she'd get. 

"Hey Kirigiri, don't worry. If she turns nasty we'll be there to intervene if needed." Aoi reassured her. It wasn't much, but it was better nothing. She was still nervous but knowing she had her friends there to back her up if things went wrong made her feel slightly better. 

She nodded and took a deep breath before leaving to go talk with Celeste. She was prepared for whatever response she would receive. Her friends had reassured her, but deep down in her heart, she felt like she wouldn't need them to step in. It was necessary bravery. If Kyoko didn't talk to her now, this situation would continue to eat away at her emotions. This wasn't just for her, but it was for Celeste as well.

Celeste had been ignoring her all night, but she knew deep down that the girl was hurting just as much as she was. She slowly made her way over to where Celeste was sitting. It could have just been her imagination, but she swore her heartbeat sped up with every step she took. Celeste still had not looked at her, which made things worse, but despite her nervousness, there was no turning back at this point. 

"Um...Hi Celeste..."

"......"

Silence. There was music playing in the background, but to Kyoko's ears, it sounded muffled...Almost nonexistent. Right now all she could focus on was the woman in front of her. It was as if time froze and everything around her became distorted and melted away. 

She let out a small sigh. "Celeste please look at me..." She stood inches away from the woman, but the gambler still wouldn't acknowledge her. It hurt, but Kyoko wasn't about to give up that easily. She didn't want to beg or sound too desperate. Especially not in a place like this. She just wanted Celeste to know how sorry she was.

After a few more seconds Celeste finally turned to face her. She was visibly disappointed and almost seemed disgusted with her presence. But Kyoko knew she didn't really mean it. Even though she was unsure of her own feelings, in the beginning, she knew Celeste had been in love with her for years now and there was no way something like this would change that. 

"Do you mind if sit next to you?"

"As a matter of fact...I do." She snapped. 

"...but you can sit there if you want." She quickly changed her mind when she caught a glimpse of Kyoko's worrisome expression. 

"How about we go talk somewhere private instead. Would that be okay with you?" Celeste hesitantly nodded and got up from her seat. Kyoko found herself being relieved at the fact that the girl hadn't completely lost her temper and blown up on her. They went outside to the balcony where it was quiet and no one would interrupt them.

They sat next to each other on the furniture outside. The warm breeze was one that Kyoko would usually find comforting, but unfortunately, it wasn't enough to make the atmosphere between them any less tense. When she looked over at Celeste, she was staring off into the dark sky. She clearly had a lot on her mind as well.

Kyoko swallowed hard. This was weird...or maybe she was just making it that way. It's not like she had a lot of experience when it came to this sort of thing. It's not like she didn't have a reason for being hesitant. Kyoko knew she was in the wrong and wanted to apologize, but the last time she tried, it just ended up with Celeste yelling at her and storming out of her house. 

She obviously didn't want that to happen again. So, it was important for her to choose her words wisely. She would have never imagined that opening up and apologizing to her ex-girlfriend would be more difficult than any case she had ever had. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for whatever was about to come from this.

"I uh...I know things ended kinda bad between us but...I really am sorry for not trusting you enough." Kyoko wasn't a fan of small talk and assumed Celeste wasn't either so, she just decided to get straight to the point. She found herself wishing she had practiced this beforehand. But it's not like she knew Celeste would be here tonight.

"You have already apologized before yes?" Celeste responded nonchalantly, not even bothering to look at her. Kyoko's heart dropped at this. She wasn't sure how she should respond to this. She knew there was a chance that Celeste wouldn't accept her apology, but it still felt like a dagger to the heart to her be so nonchalant about it. 

Kyoko opened her mouth to speak but was quickly interrupted. "Before you blabber out something stupid, I'd like to know one thing......why?" Kyoko's eyebrow arched in confusion. Celeste could be so hard to read at times. 

"Why what?"

"Why all of this? Why did you agree to go out with me when you clearly don't like me in that way or even trust me enough for us to be anything more than simple acquaintances? Why lead me on like that? As a matter of fact...Why are you here now? Bothering me with this pathetic excuse for an apology?"

Kyoko was taken aback by the gambler's tone and the sudden onslaught of questions. They were all valid questions, but she could barely answer any of them. _"She's right...Why am I here? And Why am I doing this?"_ No...she knew exactly why she was here and what she was trying to do. At this point, her thoughts were all over the place and had turned into one big jumbled mess. But that wasn't important right now. Celeste's hands were tightly balled into fists and she was slightly trembling. She was losing her temper...and Kyoko needed to think fast or this might spell trouble for her.

She gently placed her hand on the gambler's cheek. "Celeste...Please try to calm down." She spoke calmly. It didn't seem to do much except make her even more upset. It wasn't working and she was getting desperate. She didn't know what came over or why she did this, but she soon found her lips pressed up against Celeste's. Celeste didn't fight it. 

She pulled away after a few seconds leaving Celeste in full shock. Kyoko wondered if any of the others saw them? She didn't care. The kiss was short and sweet, but it felt good. She missed kissing her, but she couldn't help but wonder if Celeste felt the same way. 

"Wh-What the hell do you think you're doing?" She hissed dropping her accent. "You can't just kiss me! We...We're not together anymore you idiot!" She turned away from her, but Kyoko could see her pale cheeks dusted in a light shade of red. However, Kyoko's intentions weren't to make her flustered. She just wanted her to calm down, but she might have just made things worse. 

"Look, I know you're hurting right now and you have every right to be. But...I really am sorry for not trusting you. As a detective and a girlfriend, my judgment should have been better."

"Yes, it should have."

Kyoko decided to ignore Celeste's snarky response. As much as she wanted to be annoyed, she knew that deep down, she had no right. "I really missed you. It may not have always shown, but what I felt for you was real and it still is..." 

Celeste was still skeptical. She liked Kyoko a lot and wanted nothing more than for them to be together, but it wasn't that simple. She had a lot of trust issues and this situation hadn't done anything to help with that. She could easily just tell Kyoko to leave her alone, but things weren't that simple her. whether Celeste liked it or not, she still had feelings for Kyoko despite all that had happened. She let out a defeated sigh.

"I want to believe that you...I really do, but as you are aware, actions speak louder than words. You are going to have to show me that your feelings are genuine."

"I know, but you have to give me a chance to show you." 

Celeste stared at her for a few seconds. She could tell that Celeste wanted to forgive her, but was hesitant to do so. The hesitation in her expression bothered her. Kyoko knew that she was genuinely sorry for how she treated her. If she weren't, she wouldn't have even approached Celeste here in the first place. 

"Fine. I suppose I could give you a chance to redeem yourself. But, if you mess up like this again, then it's over...for good." She said sternly as she stared into her eyes. "Consider yourself lucky. I don't usually forgive this easily." 

Kyoko couldn't find the words to express how she felt. It didn't show in her expression but she was ecstatic that Celeste had decided to give her another chance. Celeste had high standards and could be hard to please at times. So, Kyoko knew that it wouldn't be easy to get back into her good graces, but it was a challenge she was willing to accept.

She gave a slight nod and a smile before intertwining their hands together. Kyoko was slightly nervous about this as this whole thing was still Kinda new to her. She and Celeste had just 'made up' so she wasn't really sure how far she could go at this stage of their relationship. But Celeste didn't seem to mind. She didn't try to pull away or anything. 

Instead, she just rested her head in her hand as stared off into the darkness with a blank expression. She was still a little bit distant, which bothered Kyoko a lot, but she knew she had no right to complain about that. However, that didn't stop her from feeling uneasy. 

"I really missed you." Kyoko finally spoke trying to break the awkward silence. 

"I'm aware." 

A cold short response was all she received from the gambler. It hurt...It hurt a lot, but she didn't want to force things. It would only make things more awkward. She casually let go of Celeste's hand. The other girl didn't react.

"Perhaps we should head back inside. I'm sure the others are wondering where we went off too."

"I suppose I am feeling a little bit parched."

Kyoko reentered the house with Celeste following close behind.

All eyes were set on them the moment they entered the room. The feeling of being stared at was unsettling for Kyoko. She wondered if Celeste felt the same? They would usually hold hands to keep each other calm, but she was sure Celeste wouldn't let her and it would just lead to an awkward situation. It wasn't like they were around complete strangers. These people were their friends so, there wasn't really any reason to feel nervous.

"Wow, you guys were gone for a really long time. We were starting to worry about you two." Junko said sarcastically. Kyoko could tell she just trying to get under their skin by mocking them. So, she just ignored her existence and walked by her without saying anything or without even so much as sparing a glance.

"Did you guys fuck?"

Kyoko wouldn't dignify that with a response, but she did hold her head down slightly to hide the blush slowly spreading across her cheeks. Aoi must have noticed her reaction and decided to speak out against Junko.

"Hey, Junko that's enough. You're gonna make them-"

"I assure you nothing of the sort happened. We only conversed. That is all." Celeste spoke calmly, but her words were forceful enough to make everyone else not want to question them any further. It even surprised Kyoko for a brief moment. It wasn't like it wasn't true. All they did was talk. Well...they did kiss a little bit, but that doesn't really count.

Afterward, Celeste made her way back to her seat on the couch. Kyoko stood there awkwardly for a few seconds. At that point, everyone had gone back to conversing like they were before they entered the room.

Kyoko wanted to go sit with Celeste but figured she'd update Aoi, Sayaka, and Sakura on the situation first. She was sure they were worried about her. She made her way back to the table where the three of them were seated. They stared at her expectantly waiting on the verdict. Kyoko ignored her own doubts as she knew that she and Celeste still weren't on the best terms despite Celeste agreeing to give her a chance to redeem herself. 

"Well...How did it go?" Sayaka asked. She stared back at Kyoko with an almost excited expression as if she already knew how things went, but Kyoko decided to explain it to them anyway.

"She agreed to give me a second chance. Though I'm sure it'll be difficult to get back to where we were before we broke up." 

"Trust me, you have nothing to be worried about. Celeste may be cold, but I know she has a soft spot for you and deep down wants things to work out just as much as you do." 

Aoi was right about Celeste having a soft spot for her. She had seen this side plenty of times during their relationship, but the problem was getting her to open up again. Just like herself, Celeste had a lot of trust issues and wouldn't just easily allow Kyoko back into her good graces.

Kyoko nodded in return and began pouring herself and Celeste something to drink. She remembered Celeste saying she was thirsty, but the woman hadn't even bothered to come over make her own drink. She was probably too annoyed with Junko's antics remember. It didn't bother Kyoko though. It was the least she could do after what happened between them. 

"Aww. How sweet of you Kyoko. Serving a drink for your sweetheart." Junko swooned as she filled up both cups. _"Great."_ It was annoying, but she didn't have the energy to properly respond to that. There was so much going through her mind at the moment. She just calmly shut her eyes and continued on to where Celeste was sitting. 

Celeste once again hadn't even acknowledged her presence when she sat down next to her. This hurt a lot. In all their years of knowing each other, Celeste had never behaved like this towards her. She would have to get used to it for now. 

"You said you were thirsty. So, I thought I'd bring you something to drink." 

Celeste stared blankly at her as if she wouldn't accept it. Kyoko seemed hurt for a second, but quickly regained her composure. "...Thank you." She hesitantly accepted the drink, which made Kyoko narrow her eyes a bit. Honestly, how dramatic could she be? She understood that the gambler was mad at her, but it wasn't like she would poison her or anything like that. 

Celeste daintily sipped her drink while continuing to ignore Kyoko, which frustrated her to no end. How was she supposed to redeem herself if Celeste was going to behave like this? She felt herself growing tired of the woman's antics. She was acting beyond childish right now. This entire situation was just making her want to leave and go home for the night. But she quickly put that thought to rest as she remembered this whole thing was her fault.

"I have to say, this music starting to become quite troublesome." Kyoko noticed her wincing in pain a bit as she said this. The music was annoyingly loud, but it wasn't like it was unbearable. That was weird even for someone as dramatic as Celeste. 

"Would you like to go back outside?" 

"N-No!...I...I think I'd rather just go home." 

Kyoko arched an eyebrow. Something about Celeste's voice was different, she sounded like she was struggling to keep herself composed for some reason. Her demeanor seemed completely different from what it was a few moments ago, but she decided not to look too much into it. She figured she had done something wrong and It was probably her fault for making her so uncomfortable. Then she noticed something...Something strange.

Her eyes were glazed over and she appeared to stare off into nothingness. It was almost as if Kyoko wasn't there. She knew Celeste was upset with her, but this didn't seem like her actively ignoring her on purpose. It seemed more like her mind was elsewhere and she had no control over it. Had she had too much to drink? That wouldn't make any sense...she seemed just fine a couple of minutes ago and showed no signs of intoxication. 

"Celeste." She said trying to get her attention. But no response...Was she really that angry? _"Something's not right."_

Whatever was happening right now...Kyoko didn't feel good about it...


	17. This Wasn't Supposed to Happen

Something's not right...

Celeste wasn't acting herself. Kyoko moved slightly closer to her in an attempt to analyze her expression more. Celeste barely reacted to this. She continued to ignore her and stare off into nothingness and...with a smirk on her face? Weird...Just a few moments ago, she was complaining about the music being too loud. Now, she seemed completely unfazed by it. 

Kyoko shifted in her seat not even bothering to hide how uncomfortable she was. A part of her just wanted to walk away and go home for the night. But that probably wasn't the best course of action considering their current situation. Celeste was in a vulnerable state and leaving her alone would be irresponsible on Kyoko's part. So she decided that it was best for her to stay and try to get through to her.

"Celeste, can you hear me?" She called out trying to get the gambler to respond, but to no avail. She just continued to ignore her. Kyoko usually wasn't the type to panic, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't a little bit worried right now. Had she really drunk too much? From what she understood, she had been with Celeste most of the night and she didn't show any signs of intoxication earlier. 

It's quite possible that she just really wasn't feeling well. She was doing a lot of complaining earlier and it's also known that Celeste is not a fan of these kinds of gatherings. So, it's possible that this was just Celeste being Celeste, but something about that theory doesn't seem right. But Kyoko wasn't going to take that chance.

Maybe she just needed to go home for the night as she mentioned earlier. But Kyoko didn't feel right letting her go on her own. She didn't care about what happened between them or how upset the woman was with her. She still cared about her. There was something wrong and she needed to help Celeste and get to the bottom of this.

"Celeste, tell me what's wrong. Do you need me to take you home?" She tried again firmly placing her hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Ah!" She yelled out loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. Kyoko, whose face was painted with a slight shade of red, quickly removed her hands. This wasn't the reaction she was expected...or the one she wanted. When she looked up, her worse fear was confirmed. Everyone stared at them as if they were crazy. 

"G-Get a room. N-No one wants t-to see t-that." Toko scolded them, which seemed to go completely unnoticed by Celeste. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Kyoko. 

Kyoko had completely forgotten about Toko sitting on the opposite end of the couch. How embarrassing. She really had muster up a lot of strength to ignore her and the rest of the girls in the room. She wouldn't even bother with trying to apologize or explain things to them. There was something wrong with Celeste and she definitely needed to get figure out what was going on. For her and Celeste's sake. 

Why did she yell like that? Kyoko hadn't even grabbed her that hard. Maybe she was dealing with some kind of injury. It was at that moment Kyoko began to theorize about what could potentially be wrong with Celeste. She wouldn't talk to her, which only made the process more difficult. 

When she looked back over at Celeste, she was met with an even more worrisome sight...Celeste was slightly panting as she was now attempting to undo her tie. Kyoko froze as she stared in confusion. _"Why is she...wait...Oh no..."_ It didn't take long for Kyoko to figure out what was happening and when she did, she wanted to crawl into a corner and die of embarrassment. It all made sense to her now...But how did this happen? Why was she like this?

"K-Kyoko dear...It's...rather warm in here...wouldn't you...agree?" She asked shucking off her blazer. Her breath was becoming more ragged and uneven. At that moment Kyoko knew things were getting worse, but she didn't know what to do. She moved away from Celeste on the couch, but that only prompted the other to begin crawling towards her. She was at a loss for words until her eyes landed on the cup she brought over for Celeste. Then it all made sense...

Someone must have put something in her drink. But who would do something like that? Who would go out of their way to mess with them like this? Her eyes scanned the room looking for potential suspects until they landed on a certain fashionista. The girl in question was staring back at her with a huge Cheshire grin. Kyoko's confusion quickly turned into anger. She was about to go give Junko a piece of her mind, but Sayaka, Aoi, and Sakura came rushing over to what the problem was. 

"Hey, Kyoko is everything okay over here?" Sayaka came rushing over.

"I..." Kyoko froze as she wasn't sure how to explain the situation. Celeste had crawled over to her and was currently trying to kiss her and she had to physically hold her back from doing so. It was really embarrassing, but lying or staying silent wasn't going to help her get better. "...A certain someone thought it would be funny to spike Celeste's drink." 

"Oh my gosh is she okay!?"

"Yeah, I don't think she is in any danger. She's just..." Kyoko hesitated with the last part while trying to hide her blush. "Never mind that. Can you and Sakura come to get her to please?" She spoke sternly hoping they wouldn't press her for further details.

Aoi and Sakura almost immediately noticed what was happening and wasted no time separating the two eliciting a frustrated groan from the gambler. Kyoko let out a sigh of relief at being free from Celeste. But that relief didn't last long as she soon refocused her attention on Junko. 

"If you need an extra room, I've got plenty." She said winking at Kyoko. However, Kyoko wasn't laughing. As a matter of fact, none of the other girls were. Just like Kyoko, they failed to see the humor in the situation. 

"That isn't very nice Junko. Celeste and Kyoko are our friends." Aoi cried out. 

"Yeah, I know. That's why I wanted to help them out if you know what I mean." She spoke trying to hold in her laughter earning a glare from all four girls. 

"I...I just want to ask her something. I swear." Celeste said smiling at the detective. She was still struggling to get to Kyoko while being effortlessly held back by Sakura. Kyoko was having mixed emotions. All she wanted to do was hug and kiss her, but she knew that wouldn't help the situation. She stood by idly as Celeste was carried off into one of Junko's spare rooms by Sakura and Aoi."

"Let's get her a cold rag. That should help calm her down a little." Sayaka spoke breaking Kyoko out of her trance. 

Kyoko sheepishly nodded and followed Sayaka to the kitchen. She decided she would have a talk with Junko later on. Right now, Celeste needed her. They weren't on good terms, but she still wanted to make sure did everything her power to help her.

"Sorry if this is a personal question, but do you have a lot of experience in dealing with this sort of thing?" Kyoko asked trying to take her mind off everything that was happening. Though, a part of her was genuinely curious as to how Sayaka knew exactly what to do.

Sayaka let out a small giggle. "No. I just have a really good intuition." She said smiling at Kyoko. 

Kyoko narrowed her eyes in confusion. She should have known that asking her something like that would only lead to more mysteries surrounding her.

They quickly found their way into the room were Celeste was resting carrying a few cold rags. "Kyoko..." Celeste's voice was weak as if she was struggling to stay conscious. Kyoko was starting to wonder if they should take her to the hospital. She thought back to the night when they broke and when Celeste scolded her for not protecting her. That hurt her a lot. She vowed to never let her feel unsafe again...

Kyoko cautiously approached and sat in a chair next to the couch Celeste was laying on. She decided to test the waters by gently holding on to the gambler's hand caressing the back of it with her thumb. Celeste closed her eyes in relaxation. She didn't seem like she would try to do anything devious, so there was no reason for Kyoko to be worried at this point. "Hey. You guys go enjoy yourself. I'll stay here with Celeste."

Considering that Celeste was kind of her responsibility, she didn't feel right making the others take care of her. After all, she was the one that was with Celeste and gave her the drink in the first place. She thought that Junko should be here helping as well considering this was all her fault, but that would just be more of a headache than what it's worth. 

"Are you sure you're okay with being alone with her Kyoko?" Aoi asked 

Kyoko let out a small chuckle. "I know I may not look like it. But I am more than capable of defending myself if necessary." It was true. Despite her intimidating nature, Celeste wasn't the most physically strong person around, so there wasn't much that she could do to Kyoko. The other three girls seemed hesitant, but they trusted Kyoko.

"If something happens, please come and get us," Sakura said before exiting the room. 

Celeste seemed to fall asleep so, Kyoko carefully let go of her hand and sat at the other end of the couch. This night had been far more eventful than what she would have liked, but she was happy that she was able to talk to Celeste again. They had ways to go with their relationship, but it was better than not speaking at all. 

She was tired and wanted to go home, but there was no way she'd leave without Celeste. It wasn't that she didn't trust her friends, she was sure that they would take good care of her, but this was her responsibility. Celeste needed her. And she needed to prove that she would be able to protect Celeste when she needed her too.

Honestly, she had no problems with looking after Celeste, though, she had to admit it was a little boring. Without anything to do or anyone to talk to, it was easy for her to become drowsy. Kyoko closed her eyes and began to nod off. She wanted to stay awake and keep an eye on Celeste, but her body was going against her wishes. It didn't take long for her to fall into a small slumber of her own, but something kept her half-awake.

Her body felt heavy and...warm? What was going on? Why did her body feel this way? Maybe it was just a weird dream. She wasn't in the best mood before dozing off. So that's a possibility. Or had she somehow been affected by the same drug as Celeste? She could have sworn she didn't drink any of the tainted alcohol. She was starting to worry that she may have been affected by the same aphrodisiac as Celeste.

She opened her eyes to see what was going on...her vision was hazy, but she could tell she was still inside the room where she and Celeste stayed. So, this was probably just a dream or a hallucination. Deciding that it was just her body reacting to the lack of sleep, she closed her eyes to sleep again. That was until she felt a small pleasurable pressure on her chest.

She whined in frustration as her hand traveled up to her chest in an attempt to figure out where this pressure was coming from. Her hands were still gloved but she could feel another pair of hands on her chest. They weren't her hands. These hands belonged to...

Kyoko's eyes shot open after she finally processed what was happening. She nearly yelped in surprise as she quickly made a move to release herself from Celeste's embrace and quickly got up from the couch.

"You...You're supposed to be resting!" She hissed trying to hold back a blush. 

Celeste was laying flat on her stomach resting her head in her hands as she stared up at her with a look that was all too familiar to Kyoko. At that moment, she knew she was in deep trouble and was now having second thoughts about being left alone with her. She thought about making a quick dash to the door but was distracted when Celeste decided to finally speak.

"You're so boring Kyoko." She giggled. "We finally got some time to ourselves and all you want to do is sleep." She finally got up from the couch and began moving towards Kyoko. Kyoko quickly moved around to the other side of the couch. Celeste let out another giggle, which slightly annoyed the detective. She clearly wasn't taking this seriously. But it couldn't be helped...she wasn't in her right mind at the moment.

She was blocking Kyoko's only exit so, her chances of escape were slim. Well...there was the window, but that was a little too dramatic. Plus, they were on the second floor. Besides, it wasn't like Celeste was trying to murder her.

"Mon chéri, please...Hold still. I...I just wanna try something."

Celeste made another quick move towards Kyoko in which she easily dodged running around to the other side of the couch. She wasn't the least bit worried about escaping Celeste's advanced, but she had to admit...she was pretty persistent. Kyoko wasn't sure if that was just how she was all the time or if the aphrodisiac making her behave like this. Either way, it was troublesome. 

"Celeste...I will go get Aoi and Sakura." 

"Oh? I didn't realize you were into that sort of thing. I don't mind, however." She smirked leaving Kyoko horrified at the implication. She couldn't believe this was happening. Celeste's vulgarity was nothing new for her, but it was still incredibly inappropriate for their current predicament. She wanted to make up and fix things between her and Celeste, but not like this. 

What made it worse was that she wasn't sure how long this would last. Celest was unpredictable and eventually, she would get tired of running away from her. It didn't take much for her to realize that she had her work cut out for her. She figured she should probably go get the others. 

Just as she was about to make a move for the door, Celeste's behavior began to change again. The gambler looked noticeably tired and was breathing heavily, but Kyoko remained cautious. After all, this could just be another attempt to trick her as she did a few moments ago. 

"Kyoko~" She whined. "Don't run away from me...please. I...Just wanna make you feel good." She panted heavily as she weakly gabbed onto Kyoko's shirt. Kyoko was able to easily push her hand away. Resisting her when she was like this was hard, but she knew that this wasn't what she needed right now.

Celeste soon collapsed to her knees in front of her and was panting heavily. Kyoko remembered what happened earlier and debated on if she should be touching her in this state. But she didn't seem like she was faking it this time and she couldn't just leave her like this. She carefully lifted her up and dragged her over to the couch with little to no resistance from the gambler. 

Kyoko sat on her knees letting Celeste's head rest in her lap. "Please just try to get some rest." She whispered brushing some hair out of her face. Celeste remained mostly unresponsive, but she smiled up at Kyoko with an affectionate look on her face. It was oddly comforting for her.

It kinda reminded her of the days when they would just waste time laying down and cuddling together. She would be lying if she said she didn't miss it. Sure, Celeste wasn't really herself right now, but it was still nice.

She watched Celeste slowly drift off into a deep slumber. Kyoko couldn't help smiling at the sight beneath her. She hoped that when all of this was over, they could start repairing their relationship again. But now wasn't the time to focus on that. She needed to go have a chat with a certain fashionista. But she was a little concerned about leaving Celeste alone.

What if something happened to her? No. Kyoko shook her head quickly ridding herself of her negative thoughts. Celeste was sleeping peacefully. She would be fine. Besides, Kyoko was only leaving for a few minutes to go talk to Junko. She would be back the moment their conversation ended. She got up and gently laid Celeste's head on a pillow before quickly exiting the room. 

The moment she returned to the main room, she was treated with Aoi running up to her in a panic. "Kyoko! Is everything alright? Where is Celeste?" 

"She's fine," Kyoko responded giving her a reassuring smile. She didn't really have much time to go into detail because she needed to get back to Celeste as soon as possible. So, she quickly brushed past Aoi and began scanning the room looking for Junko. 

Once she found her, she immediately began walking over to her maintaining her calm demeanor. It took everything for her to not yell at her for what happened to Celeste. It didn't help that Junko's expression remained devious as if she wasn't taking this as serious as Kyoko. This only made the detective more irritated. 

"Did you guys have fun? I can only hope you didn't leave any stains on my couch." 

Kyoko folded her arms and glared at her. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't arrest you right now." She said sternly, ignoring Junko's suggestive comments. Maybe threatening to arrest her was a bit over the top, but still...what she did was extremely irresponsible and she deserves to know that. Celeste meant a lot to her and the idea of something happening to her made Kyoko feel sick. 

"You two seemed troubled. I mean, I could feel the tension from the moment you walked in the room. So, I just wanted to help out." She shrugged. "Is that so bad?" 

Kyoko was a bit dumbfounded. She couldn't tell whether Junko was being serious or just attempting to upset her more than what she already was. More importantly...Had she and Celeste really been that obvious? How could she even tell? Either way, Kyoko wasn't about to dignify that with an actual response. Instead, she quickly turned on her heels to get back to Celeste. But before she left, she stopped in her tracks.

"Junko. While I appreciate you trying to help...I would also appreciate it if you didn't drug my girlfriend." 

After that was said, she continued on her way to where Celeste was. Thankfully, the gambler was still lying down on the couch fast asleep. Kyoko let out a sigh of relief and smiled down at the sleeping gambler. Celeste may not have known at the time, but she was in good care as long as she had Kyoko watching over her as the detective refused to leave her side for the rest of the night. 


	18. Kyoko? But Why?

...!he?

...

ngh...

The air was thick and heavy making it almost impossible to breathe. The more she tried to breathe, the heavier the air got. It felt like her lungs were out of commission and all of her airways were be clogged. It felt like an immense amount of weight had been placed on her chest. She wanted to gag, but that would make the situation worse. 

When she tried to move, her body felt heavy. She could barely move her arms and legs. Even trying to open her eyes took an ungodly amount of effort. Or were her eyes already open...and she was just staring into darkness? She had no way of telling while in this state. Either way, she didn't have the strength to properly check for herself. "Goddammit...what happened to me?"

She quickly came to the conclusion that someone must have attacked her. But it was strange and made no sense, her body didn't ache nor was she in any kind of pain. She just couldn't move. Is this what death felt like? Did this mean that she was already dead? Who would do this? She tried her hardest to find her barrings and remember what happened...

The thing she remembered was being at Junko's party and after that, she had begun feeling strange. After that, everything was a blur. The last person she saw was Kyoko...Did that mean Kyoko attacked her? No...They had a strained relationship, but Kyoko would never go as far as to harm her. But all this did was create more questions. What happened to Kyoko? Did someone get to her too? She started to feel sick to her stomach. She and Kyoko had not yet fully made up and now...she would probably never see her again.

She wanted to cry, but then she noticed that her eyelids no longer felt heavy. She still couldn't move, but she could open her eyes. When she did, her vision was blurry and she could barely make out her surroundings. From what she could see, she was inside of a small dimly lit gray room. It almost looked like...no...It couldn't be...could it? But how? How did she end up here?

This wasn't right. She hadn't even done anything to deserve this. Celeste tried to think back to what she could have done to end up in this position. She hadn't been involved in any illegal gambling for a while. She had given that up for her relationship with Kyoko. How had she ended up in jail??

Still...The thing that frightened her the most was that she soon realized she wasn't alone. A few feet away sat her lover...or her former lover. Kyoko Kirigiri. 

The detective sat at a desk with her face buried in some kind of book. Celeste couldn't make out what kind of book she was reading, but it seemed to have her full attention. Her face remained blank and stoic as ever. Celeste began to wonder if Kyoko was even aware of her presence. She began to open up her mouth to speak, but nothing would come out.

"It's so nice to see that you're finally awake Taeko."

Celeste arched an eyebrow. _"Wait...her voice..."_ There was something different about the way she spoke. It almost seemed like she was teasing her for some reason. Was this some kind of joke? A small chuckle came out of the detective as she finally averted her gaze towards Celeste. What the hell was so funny about her being locked up in a jail cell? At this point, Celeste felt herself getting more and more irritated with Kyoko.

She was annoyed and wanted to scold her for this inconvenience, but something wouldn't let her. _"No...this isn't like her."_ Celeste thought to herself. She felt so many emotions at once. Sadness. Anger. Loneliness. Fear. 

As things became more clear for her she discovered the terrifying reason for not being able to move...She was chained to a bed. At that moment, panic set in for her and she began desperately pulling at the chains trying to free herself. This only seemed to amuse Kyoko even further as her giggling became more frequent. She wasn't sure what to think at this point. In all their years of knowing each other, Kyoko had never given her a reason to be scared of her. But she would be lying if she said she wasn't a little bit afraid of her right now though.

The detective smirked at her and began approaching her cell. "So you finally realize where you are..." She folded her arms and stared down at Celeste as if she were disappointed in her for some reason. Celeste's emotions were all over the place. Just moments ago, she was ready to cry because she thought that she was dead and would never see Kyoko again. Now, she was standing right in front of her...but is this really what she wanted? Something about her seemed different...

"You're staring a lot. Like something you see?" She asked playfully when she noticed Celeste staring at her. It took a lot, but she pushed whatever fear that resided in her to the back of her mind. This was starting to become too much for her. She couldn't understand what was happening or why Kyoko was so upset with her. 

She was so busy with her own thoughts that she hadn't even noticed Kyoko opening the cell door. However, the sound of the obnoxiously squeaky door brought her out of her thoughts. For a moment, Celeste was happy to see that Kyoko had opened the door cause that meant she would be let out. But unfortunately for her, that wasn't the case. Just as quickly as the door opened...it slammed shut with Kyoko now inside with her. 

"What is the meaning of this? I don't know what kind of prank you are pulling, but I demand you release me this instant!" She shouted finally losing whatever was left of her composure. At this point, she was no longer scared and confused. She was just angry. Kyoko, who was now standing over her as she laid in the bed, just stared back at her with a blank expression. She had barely managed to suppress a shiver at the detective's cold hard stare. 

"Do you really want that?" Kyoko sat at the edge of the bed not taking her eyes off her. Celeste froze not knowing what to do. There was no way that this was happening... Celeste closed her eyes tight hoping that this was just a nightmare and that it would go away sooner or later.

She opened her to see that Kyoko had crawled up the bed until she was straddling her. The smooth material of Kyoko's glove came into contact with her warm cheek as she softly caressed the gambler's face. She kept telling herself over and over again in her head that this was just a nightmare, but this felt too real for it to be just a nightmare. The touch made her flinch slightly, but it wasn't completely unwelcome. It was almost comforting for her in a weird kind of way. What came next shocked her the most.

She felt Kyoko's lips pressed against her own and let out something resembling a surprised gasp or whimper. It was weird but she didn't try to resist or pull away. Honestly, she didn't have much of a choice as she was chained down and couldn't move anywhere. Despite the weirdness of the situation, the kiss still felt nice. It was just as she remembered.

She relaxed a little bit and finally decided to lean into the kiss, but unfortunately for her, the moment didn't last too long. Her body stiffened when Kyoko's gloved hand made its way around her neck forcing her to look her in the eyes. Celeste noticed that it was becoming harder for her to breathe. It didn't take long for her to realize what was happening...but why?

Celeste didn't even bother trying to hide how scared she was this time. Kyoko was not like this. She was gentle and caring. She would never do anything like this...would she? Nothing made sense to her anymore. She was sure she knew Kyoko and what kind of person she was, but clearly that wasn't the case. She wanted so badly to believe that this was a nightmare, but it all just felt too real for her. 

Her vision went black for a few seconds as she attempted to wake herself up from whatever nightmare she was having, but when she opened her eyes, her face was still mere inches away from Kyoko's, with the detective still straddling her and staring blankly at her. Her face showed no emotion so it was hard for her to know if she was being serious or not. "Ky-" She tried to call out in a panic, but she was starting blackout again. Her breaths became shorter or harder to manage as she felt her consciousness slipping away from her.

Kyoko loosened her grip just enough to give her a chance to breathe. "You know, a woman's heart is a delicate item and should never be played with," Kyoko said harshly as she once again tightened her grip on the gambler's neck. Celeste let out something resembling a whimper hoping that Kyoko would loosen up her grip. It didn't work. If anything, it made Kyoko tighten her grip again. 

"I-I don't...I don't understand..." Celeste tried her hardest to speak with the limited amount of oxygen she had left. "What...What do you mean?" Her brain was short-circuiting. She was stuck between trying to stay conscious and trying to figure out what the hell Kyoko was trying to tell her. 

She was slowly losing consciousness by the second. She wanted so badly to reach out and touch her...To stop her, but those damn chains kept getting in the way. Kyoko could feel her frustration. She knew that which is why her relentlessly teasing her was no surprise. Celeste gasped upon feeling the detective's hand completely let go of her neck. 

"Making me fall in love with you just to leave me..." She spoke coldly. "I've never had anyone treat me the way you have...which is why I ended falling for you so quickly...And you decided to take advantage of that." 

Celeste panted heavily trying her hardest to catch her breath. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "That's not what happened at all! and...y-you know that!" She spat trying to lift her head up as much her position allowed her. All this did was bring up old bitter memories of their breakup and she could feel herself getting pissed off all over again. 

There was a deafening silence after that. It almost seemed like Kyoko wasn't listening to a word she said. But then...Kyoko sighed and shook her head. "I should have known better...I should have known better than to get involved with you." She said getting off the bed leaving Celeste in a state of confusion.

"It's such a shame too because I really enjoyed the time we spent together." Celeste couldn't help but notice the sadness in her voice as she said this. Initially, she just wanted to scold the detective for making this seem like it was her fault, but she just ended up feeling guilty instead. She thought back to how much she ignored Kyoko after their falling out. Kyoko tried to apologize to her many times, but she just wouldn't listen. The feelings of regret were almost overwhelming for her. 

"But I suppose that doesn't matter anymore...I have you here now. So we have all the time in the world" She said as she exited the cell and locked it. "However..." She paused for a brief moment taking a moment to observe the gambler's expression. "I have some business that I need to attend to...so I'll be taking my leave now. But don't worry. When I get back, we can spend as much time together as we want." She blew a kiss at Celeste before finally exiting the room.

Celeste began to panic. "N...No..." She whined. "Ky....K-Kyoko...I'm sorry...please...don't leave me here...I need you." She cried out desperately writhing in her chains, but her calls went unanswered. She wasn't sure how it was happening, but it felt like she was screaming as loud as she could, but nothing was coming out. She doubts Kyoko or anyone heard her pleas. Or maybe they did hear her and they just didn't care.

The idea of that made her sick to her stomach to the point where she felt like she would throw up. What did Kyoko have planned when she returned? Would she ever let her go? Or perhaps she would end up killing her in the end. She began to sweat and feel dizzy. It was such a gross feeling and yet...she didn't really have the energy to complain about it.

Her world was becoming more and more distorted by the minute. That was until her vision went black again...this time, it didn't come back. She could no longer feel the chains around her wrist, but she still couldn't move. In fact, she couldn't even feel herself lying in bed anymore. It was almost as if she ceased to exist. As if she was just lying in a void of nothingness. Maybe she really was dead...

Or so she thought...

She still couldn't move, but it seemed like all the feelings in her body returned. Still...the thumping inside her head was driving her nuts. Had she finally met her end? Was this what the afterlife was like? 

When Celeste finally opened her eyes, she was no longer inside the jail cell. However, this wasn't her room either. She didn't know where she was, but she was happy to know that she was no longer chained to a bed. She groaned waiting for her vision to adjust to her surrounding once more. Yeah...This definitely wasn't her room. This wasn't even her house. In fact, she was certain that this room belonged to...

"I'm glad you're finally awake."

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard that voice. _"No. Not again."_ The person stopped in their tracks upon noticing how startled she was. Celeste almost instantly went into defense mode but stopped when noticed that they weren't laughing or smiling. There was a look of concern spread across their face as if they were genuinely worried about her.

"K-Kyoko?" She spoke hesitantly not really knowing what to expect. 

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to know how you were feeling?" This Kyoko seemed much nicer and more realistic. She didn't seem cold or like she would harm her, but Celeste remained cautious. She had her hair pulled back into a ponytail and was dressed in her normal work clothes. It was just like in her dream...But this seemed like a much different version of Kyoko than the one she saw moments ago. Perhaps it really was just a dream...

_"Please be real."_

"I...I'm fine." She lied. She wasn't fine. She was internally freaking out. "Why do you ask?" 

"You were making noise and tossing and turning in your sleep. I was worried something might have happened to you." Celeste blushed and turned away avoiding the detective's gaze as she recalled the events from her dream. There was an awkward silence. Celeste wouldn't be able to look her in the eyes after that. Usually, she was more confident and flirtatious with the detective. But it was hard to be that at the moment because her thoughts were so jumbled that she feared she might end up saying something stupid.

"Well, as I said...I'm fine." She said still refusing to look at the other woman. It came off as colder than she intended, but she didn't care. A part of her was still upset with Kyoko. And that dream hadn't helped with that at all. 

"Well, you aren't chasing me around the room, so I assume that means you're okay," Kyoko said dryly as she got up from her desk. This earned her a confused look from the gambler. Kyoko internally cursed herself. Of course, she had no memory of what happened while she was under the influence. "I'll explain later. Do you need anything to eat or drink?" She asked taking a seat at the edge of the bed. 

Celeste flinched a bit at her movement but quickly moved on before Kyoko could question it. "No. I...I think I would just like to go home and have some time to myself for right now." She took note of a slight hint of disappointment in Kyoko's expression but chose not to acknowledge it as she carefully removed the cover and got up from the bed. She reached in her shirt pocket for her phone to call her chauffeur. 

"I can take you home if you'd like." 

"No. I'm sure you are very busy with your detective work." She said nonchalantly dialing the number. 

"Actually, I was worried about you so I took the day off." 

Celeste paused and looked up at Kyoko. There was a small feeling of guilt building up inside her for being so cold toward her just now. She was always under the impression that Kyoko cared more about her job than she did her. That was one of the main reasons they broke up in the first place. But to hear her say that made her reconsider changing that stance.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Kyoko asked with a concerned look on her face. _"Goddammit, Kyoko."_ Celeste canceled her call and shoved her phone back into her pocket. She hated the way she looked at her with those beautiful lilac-colored eyes. She hated how the woman showed so much concern for her. She hated how she still had feelings for her despite them being broken up.

"I'm fine. Let's just go."

The car ride home was awkward. Neither of them said a word to each other and neither of them attempted to either. It was understandable. There wasn't really much to say. Well, at least not on Kyoko's end. 

Celeste, however, had a lot she wanted to say but decided to keep it to herself for now. She thought it would be best to think things through before she decided to open up. She needed to clear her head before she ended up saying something she regretted. 

Once they arrived at her house, Kyoko didn't even bother turning the car off, which probably meant she didn't plan on walking her to the door. Celeste didn't mind. Things were already awkward enough as it is.

Celeste hesitated for a few seconds. She was stuck in between wanting to invite Kyoko inside and just wanting leave without saying another word. No...Her pride was too strong to allow herself to give in that easily. Besides, her nerves were bad and the only thing that would calm her down was the comfort of her own home. She slowly got out of the car and gently closed the door behind her, but before she walked away...

"I'm going to call you later on tonight so...you better answer." That was all she said before turning away and making the trip to her front door. She didn't even bother turning back to see the reaction from the detective. There was nothing more that needed to be said after that. 

Meanwhile, Kyoko watched her leave without uttering another word. Sure, she was a little sad that Celeste was leaving her alone, but that didn't stop her mouth from curving into a small smile. It wasn't much but she considered that a good omen for the future of their relationship. 

After making sure that Celeste got in the house safely, she finally drove off. The little smirk she had on her face turned into a full grin which lasted her all the way home. 


	19. A Work In Progress

11:55 PM.

It was almost midnight and she still hadn't received a call. The more time went by, the more worried she got. Had she really been stood up? No. Celeste wouldn't do that to her...Right?

Kyoko paced back and forth in her living room desperately trying to rid herself of her anxiety. Why was she so anxious? It wasn't like this was anything new for her. No...this was new for her. She hadn't really had any previous experience with relationships before she met Celeste. So of course this was new territory for her.

She usually was more sure of herself when it came to most things and would almost never second guess herself. However, things were different now. Dealing with her feelings was hard enough as it is, but dealing with someone else's feelings, it made things even more difficult. There was no way for her to be strategic when she didn't even know how the other person felt. 

Celeste was an enigma and at times Kyoko often found herself confused about the things she did. They had been friends since high school, but for the past few weeks, she felt like she didn't know her at all. She thought dating her would help her understand the woman better, but all that did was create more mysteries surrounding her. 

On the other hand, it could just be her that was hard to understand. That made more sense in her head considering the circumstances. Underneath the fake persona she had, Celeste was just like everyone else. She was still her own unique personality, but in terms of feelings and emotions, she was just like any other human being. 

The two of them spent so much time together at Hope's Peak. They ate their meals together, played games together, and on occasion would just talk for hours about nothing. Most of their time at the academy was spent together. It only made sense for Celeste to develop some feelings for her and grow attached to her. Then it hit her...

Celeste had been blatantly obvious about liking her as more than just a friend. But could she say the same about herself? The mystery here wasn't Celeste...it was Kyoko. She was the one being inconsistent and unsure of herself. She was the reason their relationship fell apart. The person she needed to be figuring out was not Celeste...it was herself. "Now I understand." She sighed.

The sound of her phone ringing made her jump. She quickly grabbed it to see who was calling and sure enough...it was the one person she had been waiting for this whole time. Her heart fluttered seeing Celeste's name and picture pop up on her screen. She quickly regained her composure before answering the call.

"Um, Hi, Celeste..." 

"Good evening Kirigiri-San."

Kyoko shifted uncomfortably at Celeste's formality. Celeste could be really cruel at times, but she wasn't going to let that get to her. "I-"

"Before we began, I would like to talk about last night." Celeste coldly interrupted her. "Tell me what happened at Junko's party."

Celeste couldn't see her, but Kyoko nodded in agreement. It made sense. It was reasonable for someone in Celeste's position to want to know what happened. "Well, Junko thought it would funny to put aphrodisiac in your drink for some reason," Kyoko said getting straight to the point.

A low sigh was heard from the other end of the phone followed by a "Fuckin bitch." that had been mumbled under her breath. That was to be expected considering what Junko had done to her. Honestly, Kyoko was more surprised at how tame her response was compared to how she usually is. 

"Aphrodisiac you say...?" She trailed off. It was hard to really tell but Kyoko thought she sounded a bit nervous at the mention of the aphrodisiac. "Did we...you know..." Kyoko could hear her shift uncomfortably through the phone. She immediately knew what Celeste was trying to ask and had to fight back a blush of her own.

"No," Kyoko responded quickly. "You tried. But I was more concerned with making sure that you were safe."

"I see...Thanks for that." Celeste said hesitantly. "I know that things haven't been the best between us lately and...I'm partially to blame for that." 

Kyoko frowned. She didn't like that Celeste tried to blame herself for their falling out. "No." Kyoko quickly interrupted. "You shouldn't blame yourself. I've been spending all of this time trying to apologize because I was the one that messed up." 

"But...I overreacted." 

"You didn't...I know I never told you this before but there was this one time I didn't talk to Makoto for an entire week because I thought he was keeping secrets from me." 

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because it would be hypocritical for me to be upset with you when I probably would have reacted the same way if the roles were reversed. I want you to know that you are not wrong for being upset with me. It was because of my actions, you ended questioning my feelings for you." Kyoko let out a sigh. She never knew expressing herself could be so exhausting, but she had no choice. She was the one that created this mess and she needed to fix it. "Which is why it would be selfish of me to expect you to automatically forgive me just because I apologized. So please, take all the time you need. I'm willing to wait."

There was an awkward moment of silence between them after that. Celeste wasn't saying anything. She was sure that Celeste was just having a hard time responding to what she said, but a small part of her was worried that she might hang up on her. She hadn't intended to overwhelm her. She just said what was on her mind. Kyoko didn't know what was going on, but she was starting to have regrets.

"I...You don't need to wait anymore." She perked a bit at the sound of Celeste's voice. "The truth is I've been wanting to make up with you for a while but I...I was afraid you'd end up hurting me again and I don't know if my heart would be able to take that. So, I decided to just ignore you, but deep down that just made me feel worse." 

Everything made sense to her now...Celeste wasn't trying to be mean to her. She was just trying to protect herself. Kyoko wanted to facepalm and give Celeste a hug because she clearly needed it. But that would have to hold off for now since they weren't physically together. The best she could do was offer the gambler comforting words to reassure her. 

"You have every right to feel that way. I should have been a better girlfriend and not put my job over you, especially when my actions could have put you in danger. I promise to never hurt you like that again...Do you forgive me?" 

It took a while for Celeste to respond, which didn't help with Kyoko's nervousness. But she understood. Celeste was just as bad as talking about her feelings as she was. "I forgive you but...I'm still insecure about some things so it's going to take a while before things can go back to normal between us."

Kyoko nodded smiling to herself. She already knew things wouldn't be the same for them for a while, but she was just happy that she and Celeste would finally be able to move forward with their relationship. "Understood. That's just something we're gonna have to work on together." Kyoko said through a yawn. 

Celeste giggled on the other end. It's been so long since Kyoko heard Celeste giggle like that. It was probably the most comforting thing in the world to her right now. "Are you sleepy? You should probably get some sleep, my love." 

"I am. But I just want to make sure that you're okay." Kyoko was tired out of her mind. She didn't get much sleep last night because she had to take care of Celeste. And despite taking off from work for the day, she didn't get much rest because she was still worried about Celeste. But she didn't want her to feel bad so she kept that fact to herself.

"Nonsense dear I'll be fine. Now, go and get some rest please."

"Fine." Kyoko let out a sigh as she reluctantly got up from the couch and got ready for bed. She decided to put Celeste on speakerphone as she changed her clothes and did her nightly routine. Even though Celeste wasn't physically there it was still nice to be able to hear her voice. That's how it usually was. Celeste had a comforting voice. One that Kyoko loved and could listen to for ages.

After she brushed her teeth, she made her into her bedroom but stopped in tracks as she stared down at her bed. There were numerous thoughts streaming through her mind at the moment. One is how she really missed cuddling with Celeste until they both fell asleep in each other's arms. She was happy to hear Celeste's voice, but she really wished she was here with her right now. 

She shook her head trying to rid herself of her thoughts and climbed into bed. Despite being as tired as she was, she knew she was going to have some trouble sleeping tonight.

"Kyoko are you still there?" 

"Huh? Oh, y-yeah, I'm sorry. I was just thinking."

"Hm." Celeste sounded like she was only half-way paying attention. It was no telling what kind of effect that aphrodisiac had on her body so Kyoko thought that she must have been really tired as well despite her sleeping through most of the day. That was until she heard movement in the background that sounded like a door opening and closing. Kyoko's eyebrows furrowed as she was no longer in a relaxed state.

"Um...Celeste, what are you doing?" She asked in concern. 

"Getting ready to go to a poker match." She said giggling as if there was nothing wrong. Well, technically there was nothing wrong with what she was doing, but Kyoko was still worried about her. And Celeste could tell. "I already told you...don't worry about me dear, I'll be fine. You just worry about getting some rest. Okay?"

"I understand, but I thought you stopped gambling?" 

"That is true, but after you and I stopped dating, I needed an outlet to take my mind off things so I did what I know best. And that was gambling...I apologize if that disappoints you."

It was actually surprising to hear that coming from Celeste considering how stubborn she was when it came to her gambling. It wasn't easy for her in the beginning, but she had given that up to be with Kyoko. However, Kyoko wasn't disappointed by Celeste going back to her old ways. She understood why it happened so she wouldn't give her a hard time about it.

"I'm not disappointed or opposed to your gambling, but please don't do it illegally." She said sternly. Kyoko hated the thought of her getting arrested again. Celeste had gotten off easy in the past, but there was no telling how many more strikes she had before they just decided to keep her in jail for good. 

"No need to worry my love. I won't be doing any of that. Besides...you're at home so there are no cute detectives there to let me out if I get arrested."

Kyoko's face was bright red at that comment and honestly, she was glad that Celeste couldn't see her face right now. Or else she'd never hear the end of it. It also didn't help with her current. She just wanted Celeste here with her right now and the gambler's flirting only made her crave her presence even more. S

"Celeste?"

"Yes, dear?"

Kyoko nervously chewed on her bottom lip wondering if she should be asking this or not. "When can I see you again?"

Celeste giggled. "You truly are something else." She said trying to contain her laughter. Kyoko was the most embarrassed that she had been in a long time. She was lucky no one was around to see her. "But to answer your question...When I say you can. Now, go to sleep." She demanded

Kyoko rolled her eyes and let out a defeated sigh. She was right. Kyoko needed to go to sleep so there was no sense in trying to argue against her. "Fine." Deciding not to defy her girlfriend's orders, she laid her on the pillow and shut her eyes. "But please be careful and stay out of trouble."

"I'll try my best. Goodnight my love."

"Goodnight Celeste."

And with that, they finally hung up the phone. Kyoko wasn't sure how she expected that phone call to go, but she was happy with the results. Celeste seemed to be slowly warming up to her again. It would take a while, but she couldn't have asked for a better outcome than this one. It's been a long time since she's gone to bed in a good mood and now she finally gets to feel that peace again. 


	20. Another Shot At Love

Celeste quietly took her seat across from Kyoko. The detective couldn't help but smile at her. Celeste did return her smile, but she could tell by the look in her eyes that she was still unsure of some things. Kyoko wasn't really bothered by this. She was smart enough to know that everything wouldn't get better overnight. And that was perfectly fine. they would just take it one step at a time. 

Things were awkward, to say the least, but it was to be expected. This was their first time being alone since the events from a few nights ago. That probably didn't count since Celeste wasn't in her right mind at the time. They did talk on the phone, but that was a little different than seeing each other in person.

"I see you actually picked a decent place for our little meetup. I'm surprised." She spoke looking around the restaurant as if searching some sign of a flaw. Kyoko decided to ignore her backhanded compliment, but something else she said caught her attention. She called it a 'little meetup' instead of just saying it's a date. Maybe Kyoko was just looking too much into things. Besides, she didn't come here to 'date' Celeste. She came here to try to smooth things over.

"Are you questioning my taste?" 

"I won't dignify that with a response." 

"Fair enough." 

This conversation was just like any other they had before the breakup. The only difference was Kyoko couldn't tell if Celeste was just making a lighthearted joke or if she was genuinely trying to insult her. That was the kind of person Celeste was. When she was mad at someone, she would go out of her way to be rude and make harsh comments about them. Though, insulting Kyoko's taste in restaurants wasn't really something she considered offensive.

Not much was said after that exchange. In Fact, Celeste had barely spared her a glance since she sat down. Her eyes were mostly focused on her long black manicured nails. Kyoko felt awkward and she was almost certain that Celeste did as well. She began to question if she should really be here with her. The woman wouldn't talk to her or even look her in the eyes. 

Kyoko wasn't the best at relationships, but she was aware of how they operated for the most part. And she knew that some relationships were just incapable of being saved after a certain point. Was that what this was? An irredeemable relationship? She tried everything to get back on Celeste's good side, but nothing seemed to work. She was truly starting to wonder if their relationship could be saved at this point.

On the outside, she remained calm as per usual, but on the inside, she could feel herself beginning to break. This must be what Celeste felt like during their relationship. To put in so much effort into something just to feel like she wasn't making any progress made Kyoko feel lower than what she ever felt before. 

"I never got the chance to properly thank you for helping me." 

Kyoko looked up at her in confusion. She hadn't really processed what Celeste was telling her. She wasn't thinking about that and it had been the furthest thing from her mind until Celeste brought it up. All she wanted to do was was spend some time alone with her so that they could try to patch things up. 

"I...You don't need to thank me for that. I was just looking out for your well being as a someone who cares a lot about you."

She noticed the slight shift in Celeste's near-perfect poker face. It was obvious that she didn't expect that coming from Kyoko. "Look. I know things between us have been a little unstable, to say the least, but I still care about you. And...I really am sorry for everything that happened." 

Kyoko wasn't sure where all of this was coming from, but it somehow felt natural for her to say. All this time she had struggled with expressing herself, but it seemed like she was starting to get better at doing it. Celeste's expression remained neutral and initially, Kyoko read it as her not caring, but upon further inspection, she seemed to just be in deep thought about something. Had she even been listening to anything she said? She was beginning to think that was the case until she heard Celeste let a sigh.

"Honestly. How many times are you going to apologize?" She asked harshly. "I already forgave you so please stop doing it."

Taken aback by Celeste's demanding tone of voice, Kyoko sat there pondering. She felt like she had to be apologetic or else she wouldn't get the message across. Sure, Celeste said she forgave her, but that didn't eliminate the guilty feeling that Kyoko still had that resided within her. Kyoko was never the type to run away from accountability, so it didn't help that she knew she was wrong in this situation. 

"I know you told me to stop apologizing, but it's hard not to be apologetic when this whole thing was my fault."

"At least you admit everything was your fault." She said nonchalantly twirling a piece of hair around her finger. Kyoko instinctively glared at her for her snarky remark. Though, she was right in a way. Had it not been for Kyoko's misjudgment about Celeste's involvement with a serial killer, they wouldn't be in this position right now. 

"Well...Almost everything."

Kyoko arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Celeste let out a breath that sounded like she had been holding in all night. At that moment Kyoko knew she was about to say something serious and began bracing herself for whatever was about to come. 

"I knew...I always knew you weren't ready for a relationship, but I let my own selfishness get in the way of my judgment." Celeste slightly fidgeted in her seat. Holding herself accountable for something was new territory for her Kyoko assumed. "You are well aware of how I feel about you I'm sure. And the moment you made yourself available to me, I pounced on you without thinking about any repercussions of my actions...And for that, I am sorry."

While she did appreciate Celeste communicating with her and trying to be mature, She didn't like Celeste blaming herself for their relationship. Sure, Kyoko was inconsistent at times and had trouble expressing herself, but she never at any point in their relationship felt like Celeste was taking advantage of her in any way. 

"You don't need to apologize for that."

"But I took advantage of you."

Kyoko shook her head. Celeste was broken and she would have to try her best to fix this. "You didn't take advantage of me. I know that I can be a little bit hard to read, but please believe that everything I felt for you was real." She reached across the table to take Celeste's hand in hers. She wasn't sure what she was doing or what kind of reaction she was going to get for this, but Celeste hadn't seemed bothered by it. 

In fact, Celeste didn't respond at all, which kinda made Kyoko nervous, but she understood the reason for this. She had just said a lot and while it didn't show in her expression, she could tell Celeste was a little taken aback by her words. She let go of her hand and awkwardly placed hers back in her lap. Once it became apparent that Celeste wasn't going to respond, she quietly went back to trying to enjoy her meal.

After finishing up the rest of their meal in silence, they left the restaurant.

It was dark out, but still fairly early, so they decided to spend a little time walking around the city. It wasn't really crowded, but there were enough people around for them to feel safe. Kyoko felt like this was the best time for her to try to get through to Celeste once again. She didn't want to be forceful, but she couldn't help but feel like she should be doing more to get Celeste to open up to her.

"I forgive you for what happened. So, you don't need to pretend to be interested in a relationship with me anymore." Celeste said out of nowhere. 

Kyoko's eyebrows furrowed. Was she being serious right now? She was being troublesome...She wanted to scold her for uttering that nonsense. But Celeste was already in a vulnerable state so that probably wouldn't be the best course of action. "Celeste." She said sternly as she grabbed the gambler's hand and began dragging her to a nearby bench. 

"I already told you...what I feel for you is real."

"I'm aware of what you said, but I-" 

She was silenced by the detective pressing her lips against hers. Kyoko noticed her relax a little bit. It wasn't noticeable just by looking at her, but when she grabbed Celeste's hand, she could tell she was tense so she pulled away after a while letting the other woman calm down. 

"Ugh. Stop doing that!" ...Or so she thought. 

"Stop doing what?"

"You keep kissing me! How am I supposed to get over you when you do things like that?"

Kyoko was confused until she realized what was happening. Celeste's insecure side was coming out. Kyoko mentally cursed herself for how she initially approached this situation. _"Nice going Kyoko."_ Kissing her probably wasn't the right move. Celeste was clearly in a vulnerable state and she needed to be more strategic in how she approaches this. 

"You don't need to get over me. What you're feeling is completely normal. You are human and it's okay for you to have feelings, Celeste." She carefully grasped her hand around Celeste's hand. This seemed to help her calm down a little. It was certainly better than kissing her. "Me not being familiar with my own feelings is not something you should blame yourself for."

"I see..." Was all Celeste responded with? Kyoko wasn't exactly sure if she was responding to her or herself. She just stared deeply into Kyoko's eyes as if she was still searching for more answers. This was something that Kyoko was used to so it didn't make her nervous. However, she could tell that there was something else behind her curious expression, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. 

"I...I would like to go home now." She said swiftly looking away from her. 

"Okay. Would you like me to walk you to your car?"

Celeste nodded. They stood up from the bench still holding hands and made their way to their destination. It was a little awkward. Kyoko could not for the life of her, tell what was going on inside of the gambler's head. All she knew was that Celeste was feeling insecure and needed some kind of reassurance. At the very least she didn't seem to be mad at her anymore. So that was a step up. 

That didn't mean that everything between them had returned to normal. And Kyoko wasn't sure if it ever would at this point. That worried her a lot, but she had to remind herself to stay patient. 

They finally arrived where Celeste's chauffeur was waiting outside the car for her. Kyoko was a bit skeptical about leaving her alone because she was worried about the gambler's mental health, but she knew that Celeste would probably brush her off if she brought it up. Well, at least she wouldn't be completely alone with her chauffeur there with her. 

"Well, I...suppose this is where we end things off," Celeste spoke hesitantly as she stared down at the ground as if though she were avoiding Kyoko's gaze. It made Kyoko feel helpless because she knew that Celeste wasn't okay, but she didn't know what else to do. Everything she said or did seemed to just confuse Celeste and make her feel even worse. 

Celeste turned away from her to get into the car but paused for a brief moment. She quickly turned to Kyoko with an uncertain look on her face leaving the detective confused. 

"Is there something wrong?"

She didn't say anything. She stepped closer to Kyoko till their bodies were almost touching. Now, she wasn't scared of Celeste or anything, but this made her nervous. It had more to do with the fact that she couldn't tell what she was thinking. Celeste once again stared deeply into her eyes. It was easy for her to get lost her bright red eyes. Especially by the way they seemed to glow under the moonlight. 

...And that's exactly what happened. She didn't know how it happened, but she found herself suddenly not caring about the world around her and only caring about the woman in front of her. And she couldn't look away. It was almost like she was under some kind of spell. 

Before she knew it, she felt Celeste press her lips against her lips. She didn't have to think twice about reciprocating the action as she wrapped her arms around her waist pulling her deeper into the kiss. It was the first time in a long time that Celeste had initiated any kind of physical affection between the two of them. And Kyoko made sure that she cherished the moment as if though it would be their last time being together.

After what felt like an eternity, Celeste finally pulled away. "Come with me." 

For a moment, Kyoko wasn't sure if what she was hearing was correct. "What do you mean?" She asked trying to get clarification.

"I want you to come home with me." She giggled. "Only if you want to...You don't have to if don't."

"No. I want to." Kyoko answered quickly.

"Hasty much?" She smirked. It was hard for Kyoko to be flustered at that because the situation was a bit confusing to her. Celeste seemed insecure and unsure of their relationship a moment ago and now she was inviting her back to her place? Weird, but she wouldn't dare question it. Celeste kissed her again before they both climbed into the backseat.

Celeste grasped Kyoko's hand in her own as they rode along the dimly lit streets in silence. The only noise being the soft roar of the engine.

Kyoko found herself staring at her girlfriend taking in her beauty. It was a bit dark, but she could still perfectly make out her features. Especially her ruby red eyes and the slight shine of her glossy lips. Celeste was quiet, but Kyoko could tell by the smile on her face, that she was content. It was a genuine smile and it had been a big relief for her seeing the gambler be genuinely happy with her for once. 

Celeste turned her head slightly to meet the detective's gaze. Kyoko felt the heat rising to her face as she knew she had been caught staring. Celeste's smile soon turned into a mischievous grin. Kyoko was really hoping that she hadn't noticed how flushed her cheeks were in the dark...but clearly, that wasn't the case. She planted a soft kiss on Kyoko's cheek, which didn't help at all, but she didn't mind. 

"I love you..." 

Kyoko's eyes widened at Celeste's confession. Celeste always had feelings for her so it was only natural for her to be in love with her, but it was still surprising to hear her say it to her directly. Of course, that didn't mean she didn't feel the same.

"I love you too, Celeste...and please don't ever forget that."

Kyoko smiled to herself still delighted by their interaction a few moments ago. Celeste seemed like she was back to her usual self just now. She was an even bigger enigma than what she initially thought. Despite this, she still felt good about tonight. Yeah, things got a little weird, but she didn't mind it. That was inevitable when it came to dealing with someone like Celeste...and she was perfectly fine with that.

Once they finally made it home, they almost instantly fell asleep in each other's arms. It had been a long time since they shared a bed together and Kyoko couldn't be happier. There were a lot of doubts coming into tonight, but overall, everything went better than expected and she finally got her girl back so none of that mattered anymore.

Having Celeste next to her almost instantly made her worries fade away. Now, she would finally be able to experience some form of happiness again. 


	21. Together for an Eternity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nsfw

Things haven't been going the smoothest when it came to their relationship. Ever since their date a couple of weeks ago, Kyoko had promised to do better with her own feelings and how she expressed them toward Celeste. She kept her promise...However, that didn't prevent Celeste from carrying some doubts from time to time. 

On somedays, Celeste would be cold and almost seem like she wanted nothing to do with Kyoko. On other days, she would cling to the detective as if the woman would leave her at some point. Honestly, she wasn't sure why Kyoko hadn't left her yet. Saying she was being a handful would be an understatement. Deep down, Celeste knew that she should be a better person to her. But she also knew that if she brought it up to Kyoko, she would just place the blame on herself.

The truth is Celeste wasn't completely innocent in all of this either. The efforts to repair their relationship had almost been completely one-sided. Kyoko had apologized for her actions and showed her that she wanted to do better. It wasn't like they could change what happened in the past. It would be unfair to lead Kyoko on and treat her badly just because she was upset about something that happened in the past. Which is why starting now, she was determined to put in more effort.

She currently sat on her couch absentmindedly staring at the TV. It was one of those mid-day game shows that no one really paid attention to. Celeste always thought these kinds of shows were too boring and predictable. She didn't care either way. Her mind was elsewhere as she was waiting patiently for Kyoko to arrive.

Celeste hadn't even bothered getting done up. All she wore was a black sweater and a pair of underwear. She was sure Kyoko wouldn't mind. No, she knew she wouldn't mind. She and Kyoko were more than comfortable around each other at this point. Plus, they had been sleeping together for a while and Kyoko had literally seen all of her. So, there was nothing to hide anymore.

Staring down at her freshly painted black toenails, she couldn't help but feel slightly anxious. She couldn't understand why. It wasn't like this was their first time speaking to each other. But in a way, it kinda was a new feeling for her. They were kinda starting over so maybe it was natural for her to be nervous. 

The sound of the doorbell rang throughout the house. Normally, she would get up and greet Kyoko herself, but she needed to kill a little time. Celeste didn't want Kyoko to see her like this. She was still a bit nervous and needed a little bit of time to calm her nerves, even if it was only for a short amount of time. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to loosen herself up a bit. 

"You look a little nervous. Is everything alright?" 

Slightly surprised by the detective's sudden appearance, Celeste nervously bit down her lip. She ignored her comment and instead gestured for her to take a seat on the couch next to her.

Kyoko was a bit hesitant to take her up on the offer. She was starting to wonder if coming here was a good idea. Celeste's emotions could be a little erratic at times and she didn't know what to expect out of this...But she decided to sit down anyway. It was awkward. Neither of that said a word to each other and the only other noise in the room was that of the TV.

Kyoko sat there anxiously twiddling her thumbs waiting patiently for Celeste to say something. Kyoko hated small talk, but she really wanted Celeste to say something, Anything. She wasn't sure where she stood with the gambler and it turned her emotions into a mess.

"I didn't know you liked watching these kinds of shows." She said trying to start a conversation. 

"I don't, but it's not like there is anything else interesting happening right now." She said harshly almost instantly feeling guilty about her tone towards the detective.

Kyoko narrowed her eyes at her statement. Celeste could be such a nasty person at times. She was well aware of the fact that Celeste was still a little upset about the situation, but this was starting to get old. She would not sit here and allow herself to be spoken to like this. She had been dealing with this kind of behavior for weeks now and her pride would only allow her to put up with so much. Just as she was about to get up and leave, Celeste spoke up.

"You know, I always enjoy spending time with you like this..." She said plainly. "During the time that we were broken up, it was what I missed the most." At that moment, Kyoko sighed and relaxed back into the couch. Who was she kidding? Even if she had actually decided to leave, the moment Celeste called her, she would be right back where she was. Especially after what she just said.

"As much as I wanted to just leave you and forget about you, I..." She paused for a brief second. "I just couldn't shake the feelings I have for you." She gently ran her thumb along the metal studs attached to Kyoko's gloves. "All this time, I've been madly in love with you...and All I wanted was for you to love me back."

Her voice slightly trembled. Kyoko couldn't tell if she was really angry, trying not to cry or perhaps both. "All the money and fortune I've gained mean nothing if I can't have you."

"Celes..." Kyoko carefully pulled her hand out of Celeste's grasp. Before the other woman could respond, she pulled her into a tight hug. Celeste slowly wrapped her arms Kyoko's back reciprocating the hug. They stayed like this for a few minutes with Celeste burying her face in the detective's shoulder taking in the faint scent of blueberries. 

"Hey. Look at me," Kyoko spoke sternly. Celeste reluctantly lifted her head to be with soft lilac eyes staring back at her. It was a sight that almost made her heart melt. "I love you too...and I'm sure of it this time. I know I'm not the best at expressing myself and that I'm going to have to work on some things, but I need you to be patient with me."

"I understand. I know I've been difficult to deal with these past couple of weeks, but I promise I'll do better to help repair our relationship...Besides, it wouldn't make much sense if only one of us was trying."

"Well, it's nice to know that you're willing to try."

Celeste nodded and buried her face back into Kyoko's shoulder causing her to let out a small chuckle. "I'll never get tired of smelling your blueberry perfume."

"Good. I wouldn't want you to either."

Celeste finally pulled back from Kyoko after a few minutes. "You know what else I'll never get tired of..." Kyoko raised a brow in confusion causing the gambler to let out a giggle. She leaned over until her mouth was only an inch away from the detective's ear. "Kissing you..." She said kissing the shell of her ear. The way her warm breath tickled the side of her face sent shivers down her spine.

She knew Celeste couldn't see it from this angle, but she was embarrassed by how much she was blushing. Celeste moved along planting soft loving kisses along her jawline. Before she knew it, Celeste had her lips pressed up against hers. She eagerly kissed back. It's been far too long since they've shared an intimate moment like this. All the other times they kissed, it was awkward and filled with doubts and insecurities, but this time was different in Kyoko's mind.

"Perhaps we should take this elsewhere." She asked placing a small kiss on Kyoko's lips. But when she pulled back, she noticed Kyoko looked hesitant to accept her offer."Is that alright with you?" 

Kyoko's eyes shifted down towards the floor. Celeste knew immediately that she was nervous about something. "We don't have to if you want to. We can just sit and talk-"

"No!" Kyoko quickly interrupted her. "It's not that I don't want to it's just...I know up until this point things have been kinda rocky for us." Celeste raised a brow. "I guess what I'm trying to say is...I don't want you to do this just because you think this is what I want."

Celeste's confused look turned into an amused one as she let out a small chuckle."Kyoko dear...If I didn't want this, then I would be the first to say it. I may be a liar, but I have no problem with expressing my discomfort."

"Come on." She said grabbing the detective's hand and pulling her off the couch. Kyoko allowed herself to be dragged upstairs as they both giggled like little school girls.

Once they were inside Celeste closed and locked the door and almost immediately pulled the detective into another kiss. Kyoko let her think she had control for a few moments, but it didn't take long for her to take control and gently push her onto the bed. Celeste was a bit taken aback by this, but Kyoko could tell that she didn't mind. She slowly climbed on top of her.

"My, I wasn't expecting this today...Not that I'm complaining, of course." The tone in her voice remained steady. Upon hearing it, one would assume that she was completely unaffected by Kyoko's actions. However, her flushed cheeks betrayed her and Kyoko could tell she was flustered. 

She straddled her and they locked lips with her once more with Kyoko being a lot more dominant than before. Celeste moaned in her mouth encouraging her to deepen the kiss. She alternated between giving her short sweet kisses and long rough kisses that involved her driving her into the other woman's mouth. 

After a couple of soft kisses to Celeste's neck, she eventually pulled away focusing her attention on the gambler's black sweater. She began carefully lifting the sweater above Celeste's arms until she was able to completely remove it revealing her bare chest. Kyoko loved when Celeste dressed up in gothic lolita attire, but for the moment, she was happy that she didn't have to deal with her complicated outfits. 

She began reaching for the gambler's panties to remove them, but her actions came to a stop when Celeste grabbed her wrist. "Now dear, I know that you are eager, but wouldn't it be unfair if only one of us removed our clothing?" She teased. 

Kyoko giggled. "Is that so?" She began lazily undoing the top buttons of her blouse with one of her hands. She used her other hand to slightly lift up her skirt giving the woman beneath her a peek at her black panties. Celeste licked her lips causing Kyoko to blush a bit. "I honestly considered making you wait for that, but I don't want to be _too_ cruel tonight." She spoke trying to rid herself of her blush.

"Good cause I missed seeing your pretty little body."

Any efforts to keep her composure were now thrown out the window. But that didn't mean that she wasn't going to still have her way with the gambler tonight. 

It wasn't long before Kyoko finally removed her clothes and both of them were completely nude. They continued their make-out session until Kyoko decided to take things further by leaving soft kisses around Celeste's neck. Celeste relaxed and gently ran her hands through hair. It was rare for Kyoko to take the lead during sex. Celeste had a naturally dominant personality and liked to be in control, but it didn't hurt switch things up from time to time. 

Kyoko made her way down to her chest leaving soft kisses along the way. Celeste's eyes fluttered shut as she felt Kyoko's tongue brush up against her nipple. It had been a while since they've done this. She continued maintaining her composure, but on the inside, her body was already quaking from the amount of pleasure she received. She wasn't sure she'd be able to last long.

It didn't help that Kyoko's eyes never left hers as she continued with her actions. Celeste let out a loud moan and shuddered as Kyoko bit down on the sensitive skin. Kyoko was more than aware of what brought Celeste to her peak. She alternated between biting, sucking, and licking until she knew Celeste was ready for the main course. 

"Kyoko, p-please...I...I need you. Right Now."

Kyoko giggled as she began leaving butterfly kisses on the way down to her destination. Her eyes still never leaving Celeste's face. She took a couple of seconds to suck and nibble on the skin on her inner thighs earning another loud moan from the gambler.

"You seem really worked up and I haven't even started yet." Kyoko teased. Celeste could barely handle the sight beneath her. Kyoko laid there staring up at her as she rested her head in between her thighs with her face full of lust. Celeste squirmed around and let out a whine hoping that it would make Kyoko move things along. 

"Impatient are we?" She asked continuing to leave soft kisses. 

This only caused Celeste to grow more impatient. This was new for her as Kyoko usually wasn't the type to relentlessly tease during sex. Luckily, she wasn't as sadistic as Celeste could be, so she decided that was enough for one night. She slowly dragged her tongue through Celeste's slit taking note of how Celeste bit down on her hand to keep herself quiet. She did this a few more times before burying her face in and letting her tongue do all the work. 

This had turned the gambler into a complete mess as she was left muttering curse words and other obscenities. This wasn't new for Kyoko at all...she knew Celeste had a filthy mouth despite the image she tried to uphold. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but it turned her on whenever she heard her use that kind of language. She could feel herself getting more aroused at the gambler's foul mouth. To distract herself, she decided to partake in a little bit of dirty talk herself.

"Such a shame...You're already about to cum and I've only been down here for a couple of minutes." She said in between licks. 

"F-Fuck you!" Celeste spat trying to hold her composure. "If you keep doing that I won't last much longer." She moaned out. 

"Good. I wanna taste you......All of you." She said before diving back in. Unfortunately, deciding to partake in dirty talk only made things worse for her. It wasn't long before her hand slid in between her own thighs as began rubbing her clit. She moaned from the pleasure she was giving herself, which provided satisfying vibrations to the gambler. 

"Kyoko I'm...I'm....fuck! Don't stop!" She roared as she started to approach her peak. She roughly tugged at the detective's hair making her moan louder in between her legs as she rode her face. With another loud shout, her orgasm came rushing through her. She made sure to hold Kyoko's head in between her thighs forcing her to clean her up. 

Afterward, she let go and finally allowed the detective to come up to lay beside her. Kyoko's mouth was wet from her orgasm, but she didn't seem bothered by it at all. She just stared at Celeste lovingly as the gambler came down from her high. Kyoko thought she looked so cute there lightly panting with her cheeks dusted in red. It was rare that she got to see this side of the gambler. 

After a couple of minutes, Celeste climbed on top of her pressing their lips together for another kiss. Kyoko wrapped her arms around her holding her tight as the engaged in a passionate kiss. Celeste giggled and pulled away giving her one last peck on lips before rolling over beside her. The two of them laid in silence listening to the sounds of each other's breathing. She was enjoying the calming silence until she felt Celeste firmly grip her wrist. 

"Ah! W-What are you doing?" She asked, blushing when Celeste brought her fingers up to her mouth. 

"You don't think I noticed what you were doing while you were down there?" She smirked at the detective causing her to look away from her gaze. "Such a naughty little thing." She took Kyoko's fingers into her mouth and began cleaning them of her fluids. Kyoko's blush deepened feeling the other woman clean her fingers. 

She hummed in delight at the taste and slowly removed her fingers from her mouth. "I was going to punish you for being so naughty, but since you did a good job I'll give you a break for now....wait here." Before Kyoko could question her, she left the bed and disappeared into her closet. Kyoko decided that she wouldn't even ask. Instead, she just laid their and relaxed. She knew Celeste was full of surprises. That's one of the many reasons she loved her.

Celeste returned to the room holding an item in her hand that Kyoko was quite thrilled to see. She couldn't help but smile as Celeste approached the bed. "So, is this my reward for doing such a good job?" She asked playfully.

"Maybe..." Was all she said as she tied the straps around her waist and through her legs. Once she fully adjusted the straps to her liking, she slowly crawled in between Kyoko's legs. Kyoko cupped her cheek in her palm as they stared lovingly into each other's eyes. Celeste giggled and gave her a small peck on the lips. "I want to make love to you ma chérie. Is that alright with you?"

Kyoko bit down on her bottom lip in arousal at Celeste's soft voice. "Please do."

Celeste kissed her one last time before she lined herself up with Kyoko's entrance and slowly pushed past her nether lips. Kyoko closed her eyes and rolled her head back against pillows in pleasure. Celeste enjoyed sight before her. She was sure Kyoko already knew this, but she thought she was one the most beautiful women she had ever seen. But seeing her like this only increased her urge to want to please her.

She sped up her movements, but not too fast. As much as she wanted to just ravage her, she knew that would probably be too much for her as Kyoko was the type that liked to be made love to slow and sweet. However, she didn't like the fact that Kyoko was trying to suppress her moans. She suddenly stopped causing the woman beneath her to groan in frustration. Before she could ask why Celeste interrupted her. "I wanna hear you..." She whispered in her ear.

Kyoko bit down on her lip and nodded. "Good girl." She began placing soft kisses on the sensitive part of Kyoko's neck as she continued with her movements. 

"Taeko~...More...Please" She whined wrapping her arms around Celeste's neck. Celeste pushed herself further between her legs causing her to moan out and grip her tighter. "Yes...J-Just...Just like that." Her moans growing louder as she held on tight to her lover.

Celeste blushed to listen to the sounds coming from Kyoko. This wasn't anything new for them, but that didn't stop her from getting butterflies from the way Kyoko moaned her name and called out for her. The only difference between this time and the other times they had sex, was that this was done out of passionate love rather than just some built-up sexual tension or lust.

Kyoko's body began to tense up and the expression her face showed that she was approaching her climax. So, Celeste sped up again while trying her hardest to remain gentle. She could tell that was doing all the right things by how her moans seemed to get louder with every thrust. But she wouldn't stop there. She wanted to give her as much pleasure as possible. She buried her face into Kyoko's neck and bit down hard on her sensitive spot.

This seemed to push her over the edge as she held on tight to the gambler and wrapped her legs around her. Her gloved fingers dug into Celeste's skin as her arousal finally spilled over with the gambler's name repeatably rolling off her tongue like it was a natural reaction. 

Celeste carefully pulled out of her and pulled her in close where she continued to gently suck and leave lazy kisses on her neck to help calm her down. She had to admit, the way she quivered and let out little whimpers of pleasure as she tried to calm down from her orgasm was kinda cute. She would tease her about that later on.

They laid there in silence enjoying the warmth from each other's bodies. In any other scenario, Celeste would have been disgusted with allowing herself to get sweaty like this but was rewarded with a happily satisfied detective so she couldn't really complain much. She closed her eyes nuzzling her face into Kyoko's neck.

"We should go shower. I know you're probably dying for one right now."

"Right."

They both got up from the bed and headed to the shower. 

Celeste nuzzled her face into Kyoko's neck as the detective gently ran her fingers through her hair. This was one of her favorite positions as she enjoyed the feeling of cuddling and having Kyoko play in her hair. "I really missed doing this." She sighed. It was true. Kyoko usually wasn't the type to enjoy these kinds of things, but with Celeste, it just felt right. 

"As did I." Celeste giggled. "I love you and...I just...I just want to spend an eternity with you." 

Kyoko was shocked to hear her say something like this. She knew how much of a romantic Celeste could be, but to hear this coming from her made her feel something she had never felt before. She smiled and pressed a few soft kisses onto Celeste's head. "I'm going to marry you one of these days." She blurted out without thinking. She couldn't see her face, but she could tell Celeste might not have liked her saying that.

"Don't say things like that." Celeste had all but growled into her neck about what she just said. It wasn't her intent to make Celeste uncomfortable. But she couldn't blame her...she was a bit shocked at her own words. Although, To be fair, Celeste did just say she wanted to spend an eternity with her. She just responded with the first thing that came to her mind. She had never had anyone treat her the way Celeste did and she never felt such strong feelings toward someone until she opened herself up to her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just..."

"No." Celeste quickly cut her off. "Don't apologize. It's not that I don't want to get married, it's just...It's still a little early for us right now don't you think?"

Kyoko nodded. "You're right. As long as we're with each other and happy, nothing else matters." She said planting another kiss on her girlfriend's head. Despite being a little embarrassed by what she just said, she still meant what she said about marrying her one day. Celeste was hers and nothing would ever change that. 

It wasn't long before Celeste fell asleep in her arms. She should probably sleep too, but instead, she took this time to reflect on everything that had happened between her and Celeste. From the time they started being friends to the time they started dating. Kyoko thought it was crazy how much space Celeste took up inside her thoughts. She wondered if Celeste thought of her the same. 

_"Is this what love is about? Constantly thinking about someone? Never wanting to leave their side?"_

She mentally cursed herself for not coming to terms with her own feelings all these years. Especially knowing that if Celeste had ever moved on from her, it would secretly crush her heart. But she didn't have to worry about that happening. Celeste belonged to her and She belonged to Celeste and nothing would ever change that. 


	22. Kyoko's Promise

She was always cautious about making decisions in life...Well, it was a part of her job and her lifestyle, so truthfully she had no choice but to think this way. Still...she was never one to be indecisive. Her life choices were always well thought and she never really lived with much regret. She always knew what she wanted and how she wanted to obtain it. That was until...A certain gambler came along and flipped her world upside down. 

Their relationship was never supposed to be like this. They were supposed to remain friends and nothing more...nothing less. However, that idea quickly turned to shambles when Kyoko revealed her feelings for her long time friend. Since then, it's all just been a roller coaster of emotions. It was mostly her fault for being so indecisive with her feelings. 

In the beginning, she was almost certain that she had no romantic feelings for the gambler. But that was probably just her lying to herself about how she really felt. Her intentions were not to deprive herself or Celeste of true love, but it was more about her feeling comfortable. Throughout most of her life, she was convinced that detective work was more important than personal relationships. In that regard, she was a bigger liar than Celeste. No matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, she had feelings, and choosing to ignore those feelings was probably the silliest thing she had ever decided to do. 

A gambler who is the self-proclaimed queen of liars and a detective who always seeks the truth. Most would consider this an awkward fit because of their conflicting lifestyles, but for Kyoko, it was a lot more complicated than that. She couldn't tell whether it was her cunning mischievous nature or the veil of mysteries surrounding her that made her so drawn to Celeste. But here she was...

She knew exactly what she wanted...

Kyoko nervously chewed on her bottom lip as she fiddled around with the small box in her jacket pocket. This was foreign territory for her. Never in a million years had she imagined that she would end up in this position. The potential reaction playing over and over again in her mind had not done much to help the situation either.

Currently, she lay in bed patiently waiting for her lover to emerge from the shower. Celeste had been in there for quite some time, but it was to be expected. Celeste was high maintenance so she spent a little more time bathing than what most people would. But that didn't stop Kyoko from wishing she would hurry up. She grew more anxious with every passing second.

The scenarios playing over and over again in her hadn't helped much with her anxiety. How should she bring this up? How would Celeste react? What if she said no? What if she decided to break up with her?... Kyoko wasn't the type handle rejection badly, but she feared that this could hurt their relationship again if she went about this the wrong way. 

Suddenly, the door to the bathroom slowly swung open. It was a bit steamy, but she could still make out Celeste's figure standing in the doorway wrapped in a white towel. Her short black hair was damp and slightly messy from the moisture. She no longer carried the fancy elegance she usually did, but somehow she still managed to be beautiful to Kyoko. _"wow."_ It was a sight that made Kyoko's heart flutter. She looked so angelic without even trying. It wasn't often that she got to see Celeste in this state. But it was normal for her to let her guard down and be herself around Kyoko.

"Kyoko?" her voice rang out taking the detective out of her trance. "I didn't know that you would still be awake dear." She giggled. Kyoko's eyes remained glued to her as she stepped further into the room and began looking for clothes. 

"Hm? It's not that late." 

"I know, but you've been at work all day yes? I figured you'd be exhausted by now."

She smiled and nodded to herself. "I'm not that tired, Celeste." Celeste stopped in the middle of what she was doing to give Kyoko a worrisome look. Her soft scarlet eyes bore into hers as if she were trying to find something wrong. She found herself not being able to look away. It was almost scary how she managed to put her under some kind of spell every time she stared into her eyes.

"If you say so." Celeste shrugged and went back to looking for clothes. Yeah...she was making the right decision. This is what she wanted. She was hesitant at first, but now she was sure that she was doing the right thing.

"Must you always keep the house this cold? Honestly, it feels like-" Celeste's little rant came to a halt when she noticed Kyoko staring off into space seemingly not listening to a word she said. She was slightly annoyed by this. If there was one thing she hated, it was not being paid attention to. But she couldn't get too upset her. Kyoko was normally attentive so she knew that it had to be something important for her to be acting like this.

"Kyoko what's wrong?" She asked slowly approaching the bed. Kyoko once again took note of the slightly concerned look on her. Celeste cares a lot about her and she thought it was the sweetest thing ever. To most people, Celeste was nothing more than a cold heartless witch. But being well acquainted with Celeste through all these years showed her a different side to the gambler. 

She let out a small chuckle and shook her head. "There's nothing wrong my love...You said something about being cold?" She asked trying to contain her laughter. "Come here." There was a slight blush in on her face, but she didn't care to hide it even with the other woman giving her such a confused look.

Celeste let a sigh."You are so weird sometimes...You know that?" Despite her confusion, Celeste took her up on her offer and climbed into bed next to Kyoko until their faces were only inches apart.

"Hi." She giggled staring lovingly into the gambler's eyes. She pecked her lips and sighed in content. That didn't do anything to change the expression on her girlfriend's face. Celeste knew that Kyoko had something that she wanted to say. And Kyoko knew she knew. 

"What is it ma chérie?" She cooed nuzzling her neck. Kyoko let out a small sigh. It was either now or never.

"So, I wanted to give you something..." She noticed Celeste's head perk up as she said this and couldn't contain her laughter. She could be so cute sometimes without even trying. "Sit up." She said through her laughter. Celeste groaned and reluctantly removed her arms from around Kyoko to let her up. She sat up on her knees patiently waiting for whatever Kyoko was about to give her.

Kyoko thought she looked cute like that and couldn't help placing another kiss on her lips. "I know you said it's too early for us to get married..." Celeste's face flashed discomfort for a brief moment before returning back to normal. It didn't go unnoticed by Kyoko. And for a moment, it kinda made her feel bad. She hadn't intended to make her uncomfortable. She just wanted to make a point. "And I respect that, but I want to at least give you something..."

Celeste shifted uncomfortably again, but Kyoko ignored that. She was too far in and there was no turning back at this point. "I can only hope that you'll accept this..." She began slowly reaching into her pocket for the small black box. "I want to give you this ring as a promise to our love." She spoke opening the box to reveal the ring hidden inside.

Celeste was at a loss for words. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that Kyoko would do something like this. It's not that she still questioned the detective's love for her, but Kyoko was never the romantic type so this caught her off guard. 

She carefully examined the ring's appearance. It was a ruby diamond ring that matched the color of her eyes, which looked rather expensive. While she did have expensive taste and loved accepting gifts, it didn't stop her from feeling slightly guilty about Kyoko going out of her way for her. 

"It's beautiful. I...I don't know what to say. I-" 

Kyoko placed her finger over Celeste's lip shushing her. "You don't have to say anything. Just try it on." She giggled. Celeste nodded and held out her hand for Kyoko to slide the ring on. It was somehow a perfect fit.

"I...How did you even get my ring size?"

"I have my ways. Remember, your girlfriend is the ultimate detective." Kyoko said winking at her. "The moment I saw it, it instantly reminded me of you and your pretty eyes." Celeste's cheeks reddened. It wasn't often, but when Kyoko complimented her on her appearance, it made her heart flutter. She compliments from others, but hearing them come from Kyoko did something different for her. She suddenly pulled the detective into a tight hug. Kyoko took that as her way of saying thank you. 

Kyoko holds her tight in return sighing in content as she enjoyed the gambler's embrace. She wanted to just stay like this forever. She hadn't hugged many people throughout her life so whenever Celeste gave her one, she cherished every moment of it. Being in her arms was literally the most comfortable feeling in the world right now. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

Celeste slightly pulled back enough to give Kyoko a peck on the lips. "I really can't thank you enough for this." 

Kyoko let out a chuckle. "Nonsense. You accepting my ring is good enough."

"No." Celeste shook her head, which caused Kyoko to be a little confused. for a moment she thought she might have made Celeste uncomfortable again. "I want to take you out to dinner to celebrate our love...That's if you're not too tired?" 

This wasn't a surprise to Kyoko as she knew the kind of person Celeste was. Throughout their entire relationship, Celeste loved to spoil her and treat her. Even when she felt like she didn't deserve such treatment. Things such as these always brought joy to her heart. Sometimes it made her question if she really deserved to be with someone like her, but if she ever brought it up, Celeste would be quick to remind her of how special she was.

"Of course not. I could never be too tired to spend time with you."

Celeste gave her another peck on the lips. "Shall we get dressed then?"

Kyoko had decided to wear the purple dress Celeste bought her a while back. Much to the gambler's surprise. She didn't like wearing dresses, but it was this was a very special occasion for both of them. Once the two of them began getting dressed, they left hand in hand and set out to one of Kyoko's favorite restaurants where they would celebrate their love for each other. 


	23. Surrounded By Love

It felt nice to finally have some stability in their relationship. Through thick and thin, they managed to work things out and stay together. It wasn't easy of course...and it wasn't always pleasant. But it was all worth it in the end. Ever since Kyoko's promise, they had both vowed to never hurt each other again. Kyoko was happy. Celeste was happy. And nothing would ever change that. They swore on it.

They felt like they were an actual couple now. Their relationship no longer consisted of awkward unsure tense moments. No, they weren't curious teenage girls confused about their feelings for one another. It was more than just a teenage love affair. It was two women in love with each other. They knew exactly what they wanted...and that was each other.

Kyoko no longer hid the fact that she was dating Celeste. Questionable reputation be damned, but as long as she wasn't committing anymore crimes, she didn't have anything to worry about. Of course, not everyone approved of her dating the infamous gambler. There were many people who thought that she was too good to be with someone like that, but she didn't let that deter her. They knew nothing about the kind of person Celeste was.

Typically, she would never publicly admit to being with someone like Celeste, but that was no longer necessary. There was no fun in hiding anymore. She was in love with Celeste...Celeste was hers and she was going to marry her one day. She didn't care who disagreed with her dating choices.

Celeste was just happy that she would be able to claim Kyoko as her own without it being so one-sided. It was embarrassing for someone like Celeste, to be at the mercy of someone else. Especially a detective. Calling it being at someone's mercy might be a little dramatic, but for Celeste, that's what it felt like. Up until recently, her relationship with Kyoko almost felt like a never-ending chase for something she thought she'd never get. 

After all, Kyoko wasn't the only one with a reputation to uphold. When it came to her peers and some of the people she gambled with, Celeste was best known as a fierce intimidating woman that struck fear into the hearts of many. If people found out that deep down that she was just some lovesick woman chasing a never-ending crush, she would probably never be looked at as the same again.

Currently, they found themselves enjoying a beautiful view of the clear oceans and the light blue sky. Neither one of them particularly cruises...Well, Celeste did, but only if she could go alone or with Kyoko. They were pretty much dragged into going by their former classmates. They reluctantly agreed, but deep down, both of them knew that it would be a good time for them to relax and spend some time with their friends.

"I bet you're glad we came now," Kyoko said staring out at the clear blue ocean. 

Celeste's eyes shifted over to the detective, who had still not looked up at her. But that was fine. She took this time to admire how good she looked wearing that black two-piece swimsuit. She slept with Kyoko many times and didn't think it was possible for her to be any more attractive, but seeing her like this proved otherwise. Her face began to heat up as her eyes trailing up her girlfriend's body taking in every inch of her curves. She belonged to her...

"You better quit eyeing me up like that or we'll be headed to the cabins earlier than expected." She teased. Celeste's face turned an even darker shade of red. At first, she didn't think Kyoko would notice her staring, but she remembered who she dating and all of that went out the window.

"Well, it's not like you ever told me that you were a swimsuit model in your second life." Celeste didn't want to be the only one flustered so it was only natural that she teased her back. Though, it wasn't much of a tease. Kyoko did actually look good in her bathing suit. 

"Stop that." 

Celeste giggled and wrapped her arm around Kyoko's waist pulling her in closer. "But it's true...That swimsuit looks amazing on you." She whispered softly into the detective's ear. Kyoko was clearly too flustered to respond properly, but that wasn't a problem for Celeste. 

"I could say the same about you, my love." She referring to Celeste's swimsuit. It was almost the same as Kyoko's except it was a little frilly and didn't show as much.

"Is that so?" She used her other hand to pull Kyoko's face toward hers and softly kissed her lips. Kyoko didn't even think twice about accepting the kiss and eagerly returned the action. For a moment, they were so interested in each other that they forgot where they were...but were reminded soon enough.

They both quickly pulled apart when they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"Do you two plan on joining us? Or do you just plan on slobbering all over each other all day?" Of course, it was none other than Junko Enoshima wearing a very revealing black and white two-piece. Who else would interrupt their moment like this?

Celeste's expression instantly twisted up into a scowl. Not only had Junko ruined their moment, she still hadn't forgotten about the aphrodisiac incident at her party a while back. Meanwhile, Kyoko hadn't even turned around and acknowledged their former classmate. She was either too flustered or just annoyed with her like Celeste was. 

"We'll be over. Just give us a minute." Celeste practically growled at her through her gritted teeth. Despite her annoyance, she figured it would probably be best to go and spend some time with their friends for a while. 

"By the way...Kyoko looks hot. You better keep an eye on her." Junko teased before finally leaving the two of them alone. 

If looks could kill, Junko would be done for with the way Celeste glared at her. _"Seriously, has this woman not caused enough trouble?"_ For a moment, she really considered pushed her overboard into the ocean, but she knew that Kyoko would highly disapprove of her actions despite all she's done.

She glanced over at Kyoko, who still seemed a bit flustered. "Hey, Kyoko are you ready to go?" Kyoko nodded and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before they both left to go join their friends at the table. 

They sat there with their classmates conversing and doing a lot of catching up. Neither of them would admit it, but it felt nice being out on a nice cruise on the open ocean spending time with their friends. Most of all, they were happy that they could be themselves around their friends and not have to worry about any criticisms. There were some eye-rolling teasing remarks, but it was nothing too serious.

It was mostly about how everyone already knew they liked each other before they revealed it. Other than that, their friends were supportive of their relationship, so they had nothing to worry about in that regard. And they couldn't have asked for a better outcome.

"That's quite the ring you have on your finger. You two sure are moving along fast." Togami said eyeing the diamond ruby ring Kyoko bought for Celeste.

Celeste giggled. "For your information, it is not an engagement ring. Kyoko bought me this ring as a promise to our love." She responded confidently. In her mind, that was all that needed to be said. Explaining their relationship seemed like too much of a hassle. Besides, they probably wouldn't understand it anyway.

"A promise ring? I can't lie, that's kinda cheesy- Ow! What the hell was that for?" Leon whined. Celeste may or may not have 'accidentally' kicked him in the shin under the table.

"My apologies. I couldn't help but have a natural reaction to your stupidity." She said clasping her hands together under her chin. Leon glared at her and looked like he was about to give her an earful, but was quickly interrupted by Mondo telling him to relax.

"Celeste." 

"Yes, dear?"

"Behave," Kyoko spoke sternly as she stared disapprovingly at her girlfriend.

She didn't like taking orders from anyone, but she knew that she shouldn't defy Kyoko. "Fine." Celeste huffed. While it was more demanding than what she would have liked, she wasn't surprised that Kyoko reacted that way. It was common for her to be the more grounded person in their relationship. That didn't bother Celeste. It helped balance out their conflicting personalities.

Kyoko leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Good girl." She whispered softly in her ear causing the gambler to shift uncomfortably in her seat. Celeste was sure that Kyoko was more than aware of how flustered that made her. Especially by the smirk, she had on her face. She tilted her down slightly toward her plate to prevent everyone from seeing her blush. This caused some of their friends to giggle at the interaction. She would get her back for this later on. 

As the day went by, everyone continued spending the day together talking and doing a bunch of catching up. Celeste decided to spend a little bit of time speaking with Hifumi while Kyoko was off with Sayaka and Makoto.

"I have to be honest, I never thought that you would be the first person out of all of us to find love," Makoto spoke nonchalantly unaware of the kind of effect his words had on the detective next to him. 

Kyoko cocked an eyebrow at him. "What are you trying to say? I'm unloveable?" She asked slightly offended at the implication. It was an unspoken pet peeve she had. She always hated how people made that assumption about her. 

"Wait...No! That's not it all! I just-"

The sound of Sayaka giggling cut him off. "I think what Naegi is trying to say is that you always seem like the type to never care for relationships or even getting close to others."

"Hm...I see."

Sayaka telling her that that made her think. Perhaps they were right. It took a lot for her to open up to everyone. Makoto and Sayaka were some of the first of her classmates to officially befriend her. Shortly after, Celeste took an interest in her and made a move to befriend her. Honestly, she was a little reluctant at first as she had never given the girl a second thought before, but she figured it wouldn't hurt anything. Celeste was a bit enigmatic, but there was no ill intent there. In end, everything worked out for her so she was happy that she had finally decided to give the gambler a chance.

After a while, everyone began to wind down. Some retiring to their cabins while others continued to talk and watch the sunset. After she left Hifumi, Celeste went to go find Kyoko. Interestingly enough, she walked past Sayaka, Mukuro, and Makoto, but Kyoko wasn't with them. It was an awkward situation considering the two girls' crush on the lucky student so she couldn't blame Kyoko for leaving them. 

_"What a pitiful soul."_ She thought in regards to Makoto and his situation. But to be fair, she couldn't care less. The only thing she cared about was finding her girlfriend. 

After a few minutes of walking around on the upper deck, she finally found Kyoko standing alone watching the sunset. It was a sight that made Celeste swoon. The light orange hue created by the sunset made her look almost angelic. She would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't a little insecure when it came to her. Sometimes she would question if she were truly worthy of having someone like her. But Kyoko would quick to remind her of just how worthy she was. 

"Are you enjoying the view, beautiful?" She asked hugging the detective from behind. 

Kyoko giggled. "I am now that you're here." Celeste gave her a kiss on the cheek and rested her chin on her shoulder as they sat in silence watching the sunset. Life couldn't be any more perfect right. Enjoying a beautiful view with the girl of her dreams was more than enough to keep her content. No amount of money she won gambling could compare to the happiness Kyoko brought her. 

"What are you thinking about?" She asked when she noticed the detective staring off into the ocean. It seemed like she was in deep thought about something. She turned to Celeste and gave her a warm smile. Celeste slightly blushed at how beautiful the sight was. 

Kyoko started to chuckle. "You're always so worried about me...Is the queen of liars going soft?" Celeste's blush deepened. She wanted to argue and deny Kyoko's claims, but she knew she wouldn't have a case. Kyoko did have that effect on her. She couldn't deny that. 

"I was just thinking about us. It's been a long and hard journey hasn't it?" Kyoko didn't see, but Celeste nodded in agreement thinking about everything they went through. "It hasn't been the easiest, but it was totally worth it in the end. I wouldn't want to go through this with anyone else." She gave Celeste a quick kiss on the cheek. "It's getting dark and chilly out here. Would you like to head in for the night?" 

"I thought you'd never ask." 

Celeste took her hand and they both retired to their cabin for the night. They were more than happy to be spending this day together. As Kyoko thought back, she was happy with her decision to finally confess her feelings to the gambler. In the beginning, she was unsure of how all of this would play out. Some of her doubts proved to be legitimate, but in the end, it was all worth it. For her happiness and Celeste's happiness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for taking the time out to read, comment, and leave Kudos on this work. You guys' support is really appreciated on this end. <3


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